Lunar, Solar
by Shaitanah
Summary: “…because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse...” One can expect only trouble from unbidden guests. Naruto obviously forgets it when he sees a certain Uchiha on his doorstep, asking for help. Sasuke/Naruto. Post394 AU
1. Sense

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ One can expect only trouble from unbidden guests. Naruto obviously forgets it when he sees a certain Uchiha on his doorstep, asking for help. [Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from Tori Amos's _Blood Roses_.

**A/N**: This will probably become AU as soon as Kishi completes the fight. Maybe it has already become.

* * *

**LUNAR, SOLAR**

**Chapter 1**

_**Sense**_

_Can't forget the things you never said__.  
On days like these starts me thinking… _

Some part of him was still waiting for Naruto to sneak up on him in a flurry of black and orange and yell: "I'm taking you home!" He was standing by the door, a simple grey door like dozens of others in that block of flats, and couldn't bring himself to knock because behind that door the flurry of black and yellow and orange and blue (blue was the worst part in all its sparkling, heartbreaking, persistent sincerity) was waiting.

Sasuke felt no guilt, no exhilaration, and no uneasiness. He stared blankly at the door and he saw himself raise his hand, and then the fist connected with the paneling. He watched, dazed as if he was someone else, a passer-by, as the door cracked open and Naruto peeked out to see who was knocking. Sasuke held his breath and looked at the ragged t-shirt that was swaying casually around the youth's torso. The traditional Leaf sign spiraled hypnotically across the dusty black background. He looked up. A few locks of yellow hair streaked over his forehead, free from the headband and untouched by a hairbrush.

Naruto choked on the ramen he was chewing and suddenly banged the door shut right in front of Sasuke. It was so unexpected that Sasuke just kept staring at the door, still seeing yellow instead of grey, his mask of arrogant self-confidence treacherously slipping away.

The door opened rapidly again. Naruto had already put the bowl of ramen aside and was now eyeing the visitor in numb astonishment.

"Sasuke…" he whispered hoarsely – and lunged at him, his fist colliding with Sasuke's jaw forcefully. The blue eyes glowed fiercely. He grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and growled: "Who the fuck are you!? You can't be him!"

Sasuke sighed. He should have expected this. He pried Naruto's fingers loose ever so gently and pushed him away with a sudden speedy blow. The youth groaned as he hit his spine against the wall, but was up on his feet in an instant. He flung himself at Sasuke, a kunai flashing in his hand. Uchiha countered the blow and hurled Naruto inside the apartment before the neighbours paid more attention to the noise than it was permissible. He grabbed Naruto by the hand and tossed him down on the sofa. The blond jumped up, but couldn't keep balance. The sofa knocked over, he barely avoided being trapped beneath it.

"Hey, moron, calm down!" Sasuke's cold voice rang. "It's me, and I haven't come to fight you."

Naruto released a slow heavy breath. Mesmerized, Sasuke watched the rise and fall of his chest as the t-shirt stuck to the damp skin. Rubbing his bruised wrist incoherently, Naruto narrowed his eyes and drew out:

"What do you want?"

Sasuke looked away. He focused on the messy surroundings, trying to keep his mind clear of all the unwanted emotions that suddenly attacked him. The place was upside-down as if Naruto had just returned from a long trip. Items of clothing, fragments of paper towels, dried stumps were scattered randomly about the room. Naruto's field rucksack lay on the half-made bed in place of a pillow, and the pillow itself peeked gingerly from beneath the nightstand.

Sasuke spotted a photograph by the bed. One out of the four identical pictures that each member of Team Seven used to have. He had left his own at home, but there were times when he could see the image as clearly as he saw Naruto before him now.

"You know, if you saved the time you'd wasted on chasing me you could clean up," Sasuke said just to break the silence. His voice sounded unnaturally strained. Before Naruto stopped gaping at him and showered him with curses, he fixed his gaze firmly on the window and uttered in a steely voice: "Itachi is dead."

"I know," Naruto murmured after a short pause. "I, uh… We heard about that. Erm… congrats?"

Sasuke smirked. "Not yet. There is another person I'm looking for. And for that," he looked around, meeting that painful blue resolutely in the end, "I need your help."

Naruto blinked in surprise. The words flowed between them like dust in the wind. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Why would I help you?" Naruto asked moodily.

"Because I'm your friend," Sasuke said and drew closer. "Because you're a better brother to me than Itachi ever was, isn't that right?" From the corner of his eye he could see Naruto's hand dart up. He felt the pointed tip of the kunai find his artery and press lightly against it. The coolness of the metal against his skin felt oddly soothing. With a twisted smile, he continued: "And because I'm asking for it. Isn't that enough?"

Naruto's hand was trembling. The pressure became harder. Acting on some impulse, Sasuke put his hand flat against Naruto's chest, feeling his heart hammer against the ribcage. Every beat ground into his palm, sending jolts through his body. Sasuke inhaled deeply.

"Just who do you think you are?" Naruto said in a low voice. His hand dropped impotently. He pushed Sasuke away and spat: "After everything you've done you simply show up here and claim that you… you _need_ me!? That's rich, dammit! Now what if I happen to have other plans, huh, Sasuke!?"

"Well, you don't. I've been watching you for the past week. You refused three missions in a row and have been hanging about idly ever since. Clearly you were planning to go after me once more. But I'm here now, aren't I? What will you do now?"

"I'm not like you," Naruto whispered in defeat. His eyes suddenly flared as he glared at Sasuke with undisguised animosity. "I can't leave everything behind just because _you _want me to! For fuck's sake, I have friends, I have duty, I have my dream!"

Sasuke took a few steps towards him and whispered in his ear: "_I_ am your dream, Naruto." He could feel Naruto's excitement run in shivers down his spine and couldn't tell why he was so nervous.

He continued to the door and said coolly without turning back: "I'll be waiting for you at the gate at sundown. If you tell anyone I'm here, I will leave immediately. Oh, and Naruto." The youth squinted and added in a low voice: "When I said I needed your help I didn't mean it had to be voluntary."

* * *

The streets glistened with the remains of the fresh rain. Sasuke pulled the hood up to conceal himself from curious glances and strode absent-mindedly through the village. It was brimming with life exactly the way he had remembered it. The air smelt of peach blossoms, moist earth and wet leather; that gentle scent made him incredibly homesick. 

A gaggle of kids passed him by, giggling and chatting cheerfully. Sasuke's lips twitched in a semblance of a smile. He forgot how to smile long ago. He wasn't sure he had ever known.

He found himself standing in front of the Yamanaka flower-shop, gazing at the colourful sign-board. Decorated with dozens of flowers and filled with light that rained through the tall windows, the place looked beautiful. Slowly, reluctantly Sasuke came in. The door bell rang, but no one came out to meet the visitor; he was relieved.

He paused by the ikebana shelf. He couldn't take his eyes off a small ikebana, slightly lost between its gorgeous counterparts. A few dull green horse-tails rose in artistic disarray around a triangle of bright irises. The bottom of the prop was laid out with silver and lilac stones.

"People tend to overlook it because it's too small," a soft female voice uttered. Sasuke tensed.

"I prefer simplicity."

"Well, according to traditions, three elements are the maximum. I prefer two."

Sasuke moved carefully to see a gleam of gold to his right. Ino's long hair streamed down his shoulder, shining against the violet of her garment. He wondered briefly how long it could grow in three years.

"Who makes these?" he asked though he knew full well they had always been Ino's passion. Come to think of it, he knew more about his former classmates than he ever imagined.

"I do," Ino replied. "Would you like to buy anything? The little one seems to have caught your interest."

There was some poorly disguised sympathy in her tone, and Sasuke wondered if maybe, just maybe she could see through the cloak…

"No, thank you. I don't have a tokonoma anyway."

"Traditions are good," Ino laughed, "but seriously, you can put it on a table. Horse-tail stands for sky, by the way. And iris–."

The door bell rang again, cutting off her speech. Ino apologized quickly and went to meet the new visitors. Sasuke saw their reflections in the mirror hanging above the counter. The pink-haired girl and the dark-eyed youth whose features bore strange and unpleasant resemblance to his own looked like an illustration from a fairytale book. The impression weighed down on him when Ino poked fun at them playfully.

"Hello there! What are you two up to, looking all lovey-dovey here?"

"Shut up!" Sakura murmured. She was beginning to blush, but the guy whom Sasuke remembered seeing at Orochimaru's lair (ah, yes, the weirdo lecturing him about his bonds with Naruto) showed no emotion. Sasuke smirked at that. "I need a bouquet for Mom's birthday. Would you please arrange it? And for your information, Sai's just helping me out with… stuff."

"Suuuure," Ino shrugged.

Sasuke continued watching them. His chances to slip past them unnoticed were slim, so he pretended to be engrossed in studying what looked like oversized lilies soaking in a bucket under the ikebana shelf. He kept a wary eye on the couple, not so much examining Sakura but the weird Sai character. So he got himself integrated in Team Seven. Sasuke waited for a pinch of jealousy at his place being taken. It didn't come.

Ino got Sakura's order ready quickly, and the two left. Sakura was smiling; Sai kept his face politely neutral. His expression was warmer than Sasuke's would have been and betrayed no hint of annoyance. Perhaps he really liked her company. But then again, Sasuke never really knew her despite their countless missions together. She must have changed a lot over the years.

He made for the door, but froze in midmotion as if having recalled something. The feeling of uneasiness that had gripped him when he had entered the shop increased. Sasuke lifted his hand a dropped a few coins on the counter.

"See you've changed your mind," Ino chirped.

Sasuke couldn't understand what made him buy the ikebana. He felt the pleasant weight of it in his hand as Ino gave him the packet. But honestly, a flower arrangement was completely useless to a vagabond that Sasuke had become. He had no personal belongings except for his clothes and weapons, and certainly it was no time to start collecting rubbish.

Nevertheless, he took the ikebana and walked to the door. Ino saw him off with a hearty smile. He remembered he had never set foot in the Yamanaka shop before. He had never seen her that way and he though she was cute in the way flowers could be cute.

"You never told me," he said quietly, "what does iris stand for?"

"Whatever you like," she replied and vanished into the store room before he asked her to be more specific. All those enigmas were beginning to get on his nerves.

A gust of wind blew in through the open door. The flowers swayed their heads in perfect unison and exhaled pole and dew. Sasuke breathed in and stepped outside into the golden afternoon of Konoha.

* * *

"Are you spying on me, Suigetsu?" Sasuke inquired icily. 

A huge puddle in the middle of the road shifted and rose in a streaming water column. It took the shape of a slender male body. Suigetsu gave Sasuke a toothy grin.

"Just making sure everything goes as planned. By the way, how did you know it was me?"

Sasuke snorted irritably. "Do I look stupid? I've seen a puddle of the exact same size and form three times already." _'Clearly he believes that if he has such a big sword he needs no brain.'_

Suigetsu laughed. Sasuke's face darkened. The members of Team Hebi were not stupid, not even Suigetsu, otherwise Sasuke wouldn't have singled them out. They must have noticed the change in Sasuke's behaviour, but had been oddly tactful not to mention it. Deep inside Sasuke was expecting some nasty comments from Suigetsu, but the Mist ninja remained silent.

Sasuke handed him the packet. Suigetsu knitted his eyebrows but refrained from any remarks.

"Go back to the inn and wait for me. I'll be there by nightfall."

"Alone or?.."

Sasuke glared at him to prevent any more questions. When Suigetsu was gone, he lowered himself on the grass, still chilly because of the late rain, and stared thoughtfully at the buzzing village. He had a clear view from the hilltop. The trees sighed in the wind above him. Sasuke closed his eyes and dozed off. He forgot when he had felt so peaceful for the last time.

* * *

The setting sun smeared the stains of red and gold across the sky. The fading sunlight shone Sasuke in the eye as he woke and yawned wearily. He had slept for several hours in a row, longer than he ever did in the past month. 

He felt Naruto's presence before he made out the splashes of orange through the bushes, and he certainly heard him before that. A shrill outcry in the form of Sasuke's name rang across the hills.

"Louder, you idiot," Sasuke hissed. "I bet there are some deaf people in, say, Suna who haven't heard you yet."

Naruto snickered. The moody expression on his face didn't become him, and Sasuke was relieved to see a glint of curiosity in his eyes.

"So," Naruto began, seemingly indifferent, "where are we going?"

Sasuke uttered a non-committal 'hmm' and gestured for Naruto to follow him. They darted through the shaggy tree tops in silence, the wind howling in their ears. That sound, high-pitched and slightly mocking, was all Sasuke could hear until another one, barely audible yet strong, mixed in. Naruto's breathing. Naruto's heartbeat. Even inhales and exhales and strong, confident thudding. For a second Sasuke shut his eyes and let the sounds carry him forth.

They landed on the outskirt of the small town, ablaze with evening lights. From such distance they could not discern the outlines of buildings, and so the town looked like a flock of fireflies frozen over the dark streets.

"Will there be two of us?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke suppressed a shudder. He had almost forgotten about his companion. He was so used to traveling alone if not with Hebi that to have another breathing and talking thing beside him seemed somewhat surreal now.

"Actually there will be five," he replied. "My teammates are waiting at the inn. Hurry up."

"What kind of people are they?"

Sasuke sighed. He found it hard to answer that question; he had never tried to analyze his companions.

"They're just a bunch of jerks," he said softly under his breath.

Naruto's eyes grew wider. He caught up with Sasuke to have a better look at his face. Sasuke snorted quietly; it must have been a disappointment, but then again Naruto should already be used to it by now.

"Why keep them around then?"

"I've long since outgrown Kakashi's lectures about teamwork," Sasuke said gravely. "They remain by my side because they are useful to me. Much like you right now."

Sasuke turned to look at him. Naruto scrutinized his face, his lips unnaturally white, but it was not hurt that Sasuke saw in his eyes.

"You really are such a bastard," the blond drew out sharply.

"Heh, welcome to the real world," Sasuke chuckled dryly, "which isn't always the way you want it to be. Do you think I'm unaware of your true motives? If you plan to drag me back to the village after we kill the person I'm looking for, you'll be disappointed. I don't think I'll ever go back. This is not my home anymore."

Long sidelong shades that street torches cast danced over the asphalt. The town was still and far sleepier than it seemed from the hilltop.

"I made a promise," Naruto said stubbornly.

"You'll have to fight me if you're so set on keeping it."

Naruto smiled faintly. "I'd give my life for it, Sasuke…"


	2. Bargain

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ It feels weird to Naruto to be with Sasuke again. But his motives are unclear and things get even more complicated when the boys strike an unusual bargain. [Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Cold (But I'm Still Here)_ by Evans Blue.

**A/N**: This will probably become AU as soon as Kishi completes the fight. Maybe it has already become. On a brighter note, thank you for your reviews! I can't believe I got so many! I love you all, guys!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_**Bargain**_

_So fall into my eyes and fall into my lies_

_But don't you forget:_

_The more you turn away, the more I want you to stay… _

Sasuke opened his eyes abruptly and stared at the small ikebana on the nightstand. For a moment it was all he could see in the dark room. The flowers seemed to glow with soft pearly light. Sasuke blinked. Dream. It was a dream. Just like always.

The bed sagged beneath somebody's weight. Sasuke pulled a kunai from beneath his pillow in a blink of an eye and threw up his hand. 

"It's me," Naruto uttered in a whisper. As if it explained everything. Sasuke rolled his eyes and was glad the darkness concealed that sign of weakness.

"I know. What do you want?"

"I thought I heard something."

Sasuke put the weapon back and rolled to his side, his back to Naruto. "Yeah, like what?"

"Like screaming."

"No one was screaming, Naruto," Sasuke said icily. "Go back to bed."

He waited for an outburst, but it didn't come. Sasuke lay motionless, his forehead sleek with sweat, and waited, prayed he would leave. When at last he heard the door shut, he pulled his knees up to his chin, curled into a foetal position and hid his face in the soft, sweet-smelling creases of the blanket. He wanted Naruto dead. Only then could his heart beat evenly again.

* * *

There were three of them: a grinning youth, probably a few years older than Naruto, with an overlong fang biting at the corner of his mouth; a red-headed woman with a scowling face; and a tall muscular guy who didn't even seem to have noticed reinforcements in the team. They were Team Hebi, Sasuke's team that had replaced Team Seven by his side.

Naruto studied them openly despite the woman's undisguised hostility. He could feel the sharp-toothed guy watch him back. His gaze was bold, daring, and Naruto thought he might challenge him one day. Out of the three members of Team Hebi he seemed to be the friendliest, but it was exactly the attitude Naruto knew he should be wary of.

The tall guy spared Naruto a single glance and looked away. The woman adjusted the glasses on her nosebridge and stared directly at the blond. Sasuke had told him nothing about them and obviously he had told them nothing about him. Both sides felt awkward, not knowing what to expect from each other.

Finally Sasuke emerged from the room. The ninjas were up on their feet in an instant. Naruto heard the redhead mutter something under her breath, but chose not to pay attention.

"Not really friendly, are they?" he teased when they left the inn.

"No, they're not," Sasuke cut him off. "Lucky for you."

The dusty yellowish roads that surrounded Konoha soon ended, blending into emerald green fields. Tall grass heaved all around them. They covered the fields as quickly as they could and sped up in the dark forest that continued on the other side of the valley.

Naruto watched the change of colours with indifference. The events of the previous day were so surreal that he couldn't shake off the feeling he was still fast asleep. He drilled Sasuke's back with a hard gaze, as if afraid that the mirage might disappear. 

Slowly, gently a fuller picture began to emerge. Waking up from his dream, Naruto let the realization wash over him in a huge tidal wave: it was _Sasuke_, he was here, and it didn't matter that in a few weeks, maybe even days, he'd be gone again. Right now Sasuke was with him and in need of his assistance. Naruto fought a triumphant grin that threatened to break his thoughtful countenance.

"Hey," he called out to Sasuke, keeping step with him carefully. "How about you tell me what's so important about this mission that you can't deal without me? Or have you finally got it that I'm irreplaceable?"

Sasuke snorted. Naruto took some time to examine him, marveling at how much he had changed, yet still seemed so close. His pale face stood out against the black of his garment. Dark spiky hair grew a little longer since their meeting at Orochimaru's and the fringe hung in loose strands, a bit tousled from the wind. Obsidian eyes shone with strange feverish gleam, skimming through the area. Everything about him gave away the aura of cautiousness, obstinacy – and extreme weariness. At times he seemed like he was about to collapse, but he would soon get back to normal and act like nothing had happened. Naruto recalled Granny Tsunade's theory that Sasuke had used drugs during the training with Orochimaru. It made him clench his fists with anger. 

"His name is Uchiha Madara," Sasuke spoke suddenly. Naruto blinked in surprise at the name. "He was the one who helped my brother slaughter the clan. He is the last Sharingan user besides me and the last of the Uchiha. And I want him dead. This is the final act of my revenge."

His voice sounded dull and very matter-of-fact. Naruto became awkwardly aware of the fact he was gaping at him and shut his mouth loudly. So many other questions demanded to be asked; yet he kept quiet, waiting for Sasuke to add something else.

He could feel the others observe the two of them on the quiet. He turned round and glowered at them suspiciously.

"Why not come back then?" he whispered. "You could ask the village for help."

"First of all, it's no less personal than my affairs with Itachi. And do you honestly believe they would help me? I asked you to come because I knew you _would_."

Naruto came to a halt, anger boiling within him like a suffocating whirlwind. 

"But why _me_? You said you _needed me_!"

Now that the howling of the wind died down, everything seemed filled with cotton wool. Through the thickness Sasuke's voice reached him with painful slowness.

"Not _you_. I need what you can do."

Dumb-struck, Naruto simply stared at him. Standing a few metres away from him, Sasuke looked like a statue in the sparse sunlight. 

"So that's what I am to you? An extra weapon?" 

"Don't take it so personal, Naruto," Uchiha sighed. "Think of it as a job. Like I hired you."

Naruto's breath became ragged with laughter. "You hired me? All right, but where's the payment?"

Sasuke's jaw hardened. He reached for small pouch attached to his belt. Taking a few resolute steps towards him, Naruto held up his hand.

"I won't take money from you."

"By all standards this is a high-rank mission. What kind of payment do you want?"

Naruto looked past him, feeling the familiar heat of the alien chakra scorch his insides. He felt so angry, so disappointed, and the creature inside him craved release. Sasuke frowned at the desperate look on his face.

"Last time I checked you were really good at taming my beastie with those awesome eyes of yours. I want you to teach me."

Sasuke blinked. He must have misheard. He _should have_. The idea was so insane that it tore a sharp, darkly humorous sound out of his throat. A moment later he realized he was laughing.

"Not in a lifetime. Forget it."

"Laugh all you like!" Naruto growled. "If you're using me, I'm using you. If not, then I'm leaving."

Sasuke grasped Naruto's elbow and pulled him up roughly. The blond bared his teeth in a ferocious snarl. They stared at each other, blood thudding in their ears. Power fountained between them. Blackness flowed smoothly over Sasuke's skin; Naruto's eyes blazed red, and a low growl escaped his throat.

Hebi watched. Spirals of red chakra stormed around the two opponents. It crashed down, leaving deep furrows on the ground. The air became dry and stridulous. The lively sound of a thousand birds chirping rolled over the valley. 

"Hey, sweetheart," Suigetsu said, giving Karin a mellow smile. "Wanna take a bet on who wins?"

"It's obvious to anyone with half a brain," the woman scoffed. "Sasuke went up alone against one of the Akatsuki _and_ he killed one of the Sannin."

"Oh, I dunno. That Naruto guy looks pretty good to me. It might be tough even for Sasuke."

Karin spun around to face him and glared at him contemptuously. Suigetsu took out a couple of coins and tossed them up with the most innocent look his could manage. She grudgingly drew out her own money.

"What do you think?" she asked Juugo. He cocked his head, squinted and answered in a neutral voice:

"They are equal."

Karin snorted. Let them fool themselves; no one could defeat Sasuke.

Not even this…

Karin stared. Suigetsu shifted, stepping a bit closer to the ruined valley. The dust accumulated; they could see the fighters opposing each other amidst the furrowed ground. Dead, dusty ribbons of grass ruled the brownish ground. Sasuke clenched his fingers around Naruto's fist, prepared for the blow. They panted, eyes wandering into each other's in blind rage that was beginning to fade.

"I'll teach you," Sasuke breathed heavily. 

Naruto grinned smugly. "Yay! So what are we waiting for? Let's go kick this guy's butt!"

Karin narrowed her eyes. Was that a smile on Sasuke's lips? It was brief, barely alive, but owing to it he suddenly looked young and vulnerable. They were already far ahead when Juugo loomed over his teammates and collected the lost money with a vague "thank you". If Karin hadn't known him, she'd have thought he was being sarcastic. She wanted to protest that he hadn't bet officially, but somehow the loss of money no longer mattered. What mattered, was that warm, boyish half-smile that traveled upon Sasuke's lips and vanished into the nothing.

* * *

_Sometimes he removes the mask standing in front of the mirror and reveals the unfamiliar face laced with thick scar tissue. One eye is missing, there's nothing but darkness in the empty socket. No expression. The other eye flares deep scarlet. He brushes his hand through his spiky black hair. It's his hair, and his face, and his eye – yet everything seems unfamiliar and somewhat frightening._

_He opens the black-and-red cloak and pushes his shirt up. Braces pierce his torso, keeping all the ruined flesh and bones together. There must have been a really grave accident if he still has to wear them after all this time. The entire right side of his body is crushed. The scars are years old, but they still stand out clearly. The skin seems to have been ripped off in places, melted and frozen in some different, twisted pattern._

_It hurts. Not physically. It hurts to look at all that and not understand what lies beneath the scars and the mask._

_He's pretty sure his name is Tobi. At least that's the only thing he knows. Other things remain uncertain; something Zetsu-san might have told him, something Deidara-senpai might have yelled in his artistic rage. Something Tobi has seen or heard in the company of the other members of the group. But this name, he's known it before he met Zetsu-san. He's almost certain he's the one who's told everyone to call him Tobi._

_At other times it seems he's an entirely different person. His voice is soft, slightly muffled by the impenetrable mask; yet there are times when it acquires a powerful ring to it which makes him stand straighter and taller and gives him a commanding air. His perception is marred by the strange haze that veils his mind from time to time. He looks at himself and he sees someone else. When he comes to, it frightens him. _

Naruto's sleep became heavier over the past few months. He rarely woke up with a grin anymore, having basked in the glory of his desired title all night or eaten a bowl of delicious ramen half his height. These days he dreamt of darkness and fire, the cold of loneliness and the constant chase. 

Tonight, however, was a bit different. He ran after Sasuke, but the chase didn't take him to the Valley of the End or Orochimaru's lair. He ended up on the outskirts of Konoha, lying amidst the soft grass. Smoke flowed over the plain. Naruto lifted his head and covered his mouth with his hand to avoid the suffocating stench. Damaged bodies lay sprawled everywhere like rag dolls. Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes.

He saw a huge toad with a tiny figure standing atop its head. For a moment bright blue eyes advanced on him even though their owner was still riding his grotesque transport across the plain. The beast inside him roared in powerless fury. Torn between the two sensations, Naruto opened his mouth to scream, but the voice that came out wasn't his. A plaintive baby whine rang in his ears. The Monster Fox bellowed.

Naruto woke up in cold sweat. Rosy dawn broke abruptly, streaks of pink and yellow trickling over the pale sky like splashes of wet paint on canvas. The youth rolled on his back and spied Sasuke standing over him. Uchiha raised his foot and gave Naruto's side a light push.

"Morning," he said harshly. "Get up, we don't have all day."

"Eh?"

Sasuke pursed his lips and looked away. Naruto knew that expression; it seldom appeared whenever Sasuke felt embarrassed about something. When the youth turned back, all expression on his face vanished.

"The training, remember?"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't believed that half-hearted promise. Not one iota, damn it! Yet Sasuke was here, ready to train him. Something might even work out, Naruto thought.

He was up in no time. Shaking off the moody remains of the dream, he put on his forehead protector and stood in front of Sasuke, waiting for him to do something. The grove where Team Hebi had stopped for the night was unnaturally quiet.

"Uhm… where's everyone?" Naruto wondered briefly.

"I told them we'd catch up with them later. We don't need any spectators."

Naruto shuddered as he felt drops of sweat trickling down his spine. The situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Sasuke coughed quietly. 

"So… I take it we need to wake it up first before we put it back to sleep."

"It usually wakes up to help when I've used up all my chakra and have to draw on the red one," Naruto explained readily. "Or if I… well, get really angry. Like yesterday."

"We have neither time nor means to make you really angry," Sasuke replied thoughtfully. "We'll have to go with the current then. Is that how Jiraiya trained you?"

"How do you–? Well, yes, but…"

Naruto broke off. He didn't want to tell Sasuke that the Fox might not wake up by command. The truth was, Naruto had got so bad at controlling it that it invade his dreams and tried to break through each time someone said anything that annoyed him – but it was never there when he needed it. In fact, Naruto supposed, he had to endanger his life to make it come out.

He looked up resolutely, recalling all the training he had gone through with Ero-sennin. He produced a few dozens of clones and set to work on the most exhausting basics he had recollected. He knew Sasuke was watching him, all of him, wandering seemingly aimless amidst the cheerful, blue-eyed and yellow-haired copies. His eyes would blaze red occasionally as he detected the changes in Naruto's chakra. A few hours later the sun was already high above the horizon. No progress was made.

"It's not working," Sasuke mused. "Seems like you withheld something important. I think we need to create a potentiallydangerous situation that may result in lethal injuries."

The clones vanished with a quiet 'pop'. Naruto lowered himself on the ground, breathing deeply. "Huh?"

"Your death," Sasuke said listlessly.

Naruto attempted to get up. Fatigue engulfed him all of a sudden. He felt hungry and sleepy, bouncing on the verge of the condition when the Fox might have woken up. He opened his mouth to tell Sasuke about it and barely had enough time to jump aside as Sasuke's katana came down on him. He wanted to protest that the Fox wouldn't believe Sasuke's intentions after he had made it known he needed its strength, but Uchiha swung his weapon again, rushing into another ferocious attack. 

Naruto staggered. Sasuke held his gaze, black tomoe spinning wildly, or so it seemed to Naruto. He felt dizzy, a fountain of fire raging inside him. 

"I need a break," he breathed. The damn Demon was not going to act, he knew that. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. He was pretty sure he had never felt so tired before.

"No breaks!" Sasuke cut him off. 

The blade plunged into his chest and turned, and the pain spread like radiation through his body. He screamed, choking on the final loud moan. 'It's not real!' his mind shrieked. Naruto bit heavily on his lip, splitting it apart, tasting the metallic flavour of blood on his tongue.

Sunlight crushed down on him. He blinked his eyes. He had almost forgotten it was there. 

Rage boiled within him. Power soared up, hitting all the tenketsu at once, and the red chakra was released. Naruto felt the walls of the inner prison shake violently. He fell on his knees in the water and the stream flung him fiercely against the bars. The Fox laughed harshly.

"_Rise, weakling!"_ he heard its throaty voice. _"Show this impudent boy what we can do!"_

Naruto moaned weakly. Anger burned in his throat like a miniature explosion. A hand clutched at the front of his jacket, forcing him up on his feet. Naruto drew forth, pressing himself hard against Sasuke, feeling the warmth of an other human body. Sasuke pushed him back against the bars, running his hand along Naruto's forearm and locking the other one over his throat.

"Hold on," he whispered. "Just hold on."


	3. Smiles Lie

Chapter 3

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Sasuke hesitates, Naruto has fun, Sakura will do anything to save her friends… and Tobi remembers. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Beautiful Day_ by Venus.

**A/N**: Thank you a million times to everyone who read, reviewed and fav'd. I love you, guys! Uhm… does my Sasuke really talk too much? I kind of think he should loosen up a bit around Naruto because it's impossible to remain a grouchy bastard around him forever))) Besides, he killed Itachi so he slowly begins a process of healing his wounds and might one day become a normal person.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**Smiles Lie**_

_I wish I was made  
Rebuilt-up and fake  
I wish I could lie  
And never could fail_

Greenish light fell thickly upon Naruto's face, strained with agony. The Nine-Tails went on laughing. Sasuke knew something had gone terribly wrong. He could feel Naruto's heart thudding as if it were his own, beating behind the bars of his own ribcage.

"Hold on," he kept on saying. "Naruto, you're so much stronger than that."

He looked past the youth in his embrace, into the darkness of the cage where the Fox's monstrous shape was trembling with uncontrollable laughter. The bars shook. Sasuke threw up his hand and pressed his palm against the seal. The bars radiated heat into his skin. He clenched his teeth. A surge of energy rushed through Naruto's body and into his; he collapsed, and Naruto went under water. Sasuke's red eyes followed the Kyuubi warily.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the Demon Fox bellowed with faint amusement. "I had little hope we'd meet again."

Sasuke's lips curved into a smirk. With his eyes, he was capable of anything. He'd prove one could control the Kyuubi even without the Mangekyou Sharingan!

"You will be mine," he mouthed.

The Fox snarled furiously. Another jet of energy hit unexpectedly. Instinct took over; Sasuke threw himself over Naruto's senseless body to protect him from the fire. Only then it dawned upon him that the fire would hardly hurt Naruto. He looked up, his arms wrapped gently around the blond. The Nine-Tails crept closer to the bars. Their eyes met. 'Just wake up, blockhead!' he thought irritably.

Naruto coughed, water splattering over his face. Sasuke blinked his eyes. He was lying on the ground a few metres away from Naruto. The blond's chest heaved with convulsive inhales. Panting, Sasuke turned over and crawled towards him. He felt exhausted, as if having been trapped in Tsukuyomi once again.

"F-failed…" Naruto murmured.

"Yeah," Sasuke said breathlessly. He could still feel the warmth of Naruto's body in his arms and the scorching heat of the bars. The memory frightened him. "You'll learn."

He rose, shaking, and held out his hand to help Naruto. They had a long way to go if they wanted to catch up with Hebi before sunset.

* * *

Sasuke hated the idea from the moment it formed in his mind. But he had already sunk into the deepest chasm of baseness and it was not the time to regret anything. He would walk this path till the very end even if he had to kill…

He took a walk down the hills and discovered a small muddy river running in a snakelike ribbon through the hillocks not too far from Hebi's camping place. He followed its current, his gaze drifting absent-mindedly over the brownish waters. Here and there emerald clots of waterplants swam upwards.

Fragments of the day danced in Sasuke's mind. He replayed the accident over and over again. Something must have gone wrong and weakened the seal. He wondered how Jiraiya had dealt with such difficulties. He knew he needed to master it. It was just another jutsu. He had become so powerful, training under Orochimaru. He had slain his brother, the strongest person he had ever known. He _knew_ he could gain control of the Nine-Tails; he just needed to figure out what went wrong.

'And I take it that you don't care if Naruto-kun dies along the way,' his inner voice jeered. Over the past month it had come dangerously close to assuming the form of his deceased brother. Whenever Sasuke tried to imagine that other part of him that would always object and humiliate him, he would see Itachi. 'You know, your new quest for power is highly amusing. But power is a dangerous thing. Once you take the first bite, you develop such a fierce taste for it you'll go on to devour the whole world.'

"Oh, that's rich coming from someone who's ultimate goal had always been power, power, more power," Sasuke sneered. "Oh, and did I mention power?"

'Sarcasm doesn't become you, little brother.'

He could almost feel the flap of the Akatsuki cloak brush his leg. Sasuke balled his fists and hissed under his breath: "You're just a projection; act like one! Why can't you die and _stay dead_?"

He thought he could see a smile. A warm, brotherly and painfully insincere smile.

"You should have just told me!" Sasuke screamed, not bothering if it was loud enough for Hebi to hear him. "You should have fucking told me!"

He returned to the camp, ignoring the team's inquiring looks. The smell of food made him sick. He laid out his bedroll, climbed inside and pretended to fall asleep. In truth, his eyes never left the face of the sleeping Naruto.

He wondered what use he could put the youth to. Activate the Mangekyou? 'Been there,' Uchiha smirked. Kill Madara? Possibly. But afterwards? Would he really sacrifice Naruto to release the Kyuubi and what, just _what_ would he do with the Kyuubi then?

Such questions buzzing in his mind like a disturbed beehive, Sasuke soon fell into a restive sleep.

* * *

The setting sun gave the clouds an injection of red; they looked like strawberry foam now. Yet with all its beauty, there was something sinister in the way they streamed leisurely over the sky, splashing the red all over the village.

Sakura leaned against the hallway wall outside Naruto's apartment and closed her eyes. Tonight they were supposed to go on a date. The usual (movies, dinner, a walk home) and hopefully not as miserable as the previous one had been. Sakura couldn't help blushing: to think she had called that heart-wrenching talk at the ramen shop the night Sasuke had left a _date_!

A few days back Naruto had asked for it. Sakura had refused again. She couldn't say why she always turned him down. Perhaps it was a habit, a sunny remnant of the days when she had been madly in love with Sasuke-kun and Naruto had been nothing but a bothersome idiot.

"Then let's go as friends!" Naruto had insisted. "It's not like I'm asking you to kiss me or something… Though that'd be great!"

Sakura had rolled her eyes. "Okay. There's a film I want to see. Take me to the cinema." She couldn't help throwing in a mentoring note. "We'll see if you are even ready for a date."

Sakura slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees. She couldn't believe he didn't show up. 'You're going to die a slow, painful death,' she addressed Naruto mentally. However, something was not quite right: she knew Naruto would never have missed a date he had been counting on for so long.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here," she heard Kakashi-sensei's voice.

Sakura winked at him. "Spying on your teammates, eh?"

She could swear he grinned behind the mask. "Sorry, I'm not much into teenage melodrama."

Sakura felt embarrassed. She had to admit it did turn out pretty sappy.

"I thought I'd wait for Naruto here," she said insecurely. "He doesn't seem to be in a rush, though."

"I'd rather you don't," Kakashi interjected, "unless you want to wait for months."

That was it. The feeling of uneasiness that had been gnawing at her for the past few days burst into full-fledged panic. She drilled Kakashi with a grave, worried look. He gave her a dark picture of poor quality which she recognized as the guards' post spycam screenshot. It was so bleared that at first she couldn't comprehend what Kakashi wanted her to see. A passing figure caught her attention.

"Sa… Sasuke-kun!" she gasped, astounded. Kakashi nodded slowly. "But… Naruto wouldn't have gone after him alone! He'd have informed us!"

"Not unless Sasuke told him to keep quiet."

Taken aback, she could only stare blankly at the outlines of the familiar spiky hairdo.

"Do you mean to say," she murmured, "that Naruto and Sasuke-kun left together? But that… We must find them! The Akatsuki are still after Naruto, and Sasuke-kun…" She broke off, then added firmly: "I don't trust Sasuke-kun."

"Neither do I," Kakashi smiled. "Call on Sai. They are two days ahead of us. I'll be waiting for you at the main entrance in two hours. I doubt we'll need any more men this time."

As he vanished, Sakura walked to the exit, rubbing her hands unwittingly. Naruto left without a word, much like Sasuke-kun had. The tears of that distant night welled up in her eyes. She bit her lip. Never again would she wait for someone else to carry out her duty. If Naruto had contracted the same virus that had taken Sasuke-kun from her, she'd be there to save them both.

* * *

The flowers withered. The dull green horse-tail feathers became dry and brittle. That was what Sasuke loved about flowers: once cut off, they lived on for a few days and died a peaceful death, like a man in his sleep.

Out of all the irises only one had been a full-fledged flower. The others never had the time to bloom. He swept the pad of his finger across the wrinkled buds. The fallen fibre of horse-tail turned to powder in his hand.

He took the ikebana out of his bagpack and set it between the mighty roots of an old tree. He collected the pebbles from it and hid them in his pouch. The bagpack felt strangely light without the miniature vase.

"Can I ask you something?" Karin's voice snapped him back to reality. Sasuke thought with dark amusement, 'Will it stop you if I say no?' and nodded curtly. "I was thinking here. When we take out Madara, Hebi will be disbanded, right? You will have no further need for Suigetsu and Juugo. But I…" She moved closer, trailing her fingers down Sasuke's forearm. He stood stiff and motionless, watching her grimly. "I have some special abilities you could use when you find a new place to settle down in. I thought we could…"

Karin's voice became deeper, rich with seductive overtones, and then she fell quiet so abruptly that Sasuke had to suppress laughter: Naruto passed them, chewing messily at some seaweed from their rations. He looked ragged but pretty cheerful.

"Oops, never mind me! I'm just… minding my own business here," he said, not even bothering to wipe an eloquent smirk off his face.

Karin growled and started for the campsite with the look of a notorious serial killer. Sasuke swallowed down laughter and remarked:

"I was half-expecting you to start unzipping your pants like that day during the Chuunin Exam when you decided to take a piss in front of Sakura."

Naruto blushed. "Ouch, you _remember_ that!" His insolent grin grew even wider. "Anyhow, sorry for blowing off your date."

"My _what_? Please! She's a slut."

To his faint amusement, Naruto didn't laugh. His face became serious, almost solemn, and his voice was husky.

"It's so easy for you to label people. Like I'm a moron, Sakura-chan is annoying and… well…"

Sasuke shrugged. "Truths and roses have thorns about them. Get used to it." They needed a change of subject before Naruto started making a scene or protecting Karin. Sasuke's tone softened. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually, though I can't remember what happened yesterday." Sasuke blinked at that. Naruto ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and chuckled nervously. "Just some weird fragments really. Did something bad happen? Wait! Did four tails come out!?"

"Naruto, stop babbling!" Sasuke snapped out.

He knitted his eyebrows. The dismal thoughts of the previous night flooded his mind with a new force. Now he was sure the seal was about to break. He considered telling Naruto about it, but then again, the blockhead would have no use for the information. It would only unnerve him.

"Are we gonna practise today?" Naruto asked. Sasuke cocked his head. Unbelievable! He was actually waiting for it!

Limpid green sunlight filtered through the leaves. Sasuke listened to the echo of Karin and Suigetsu's bickering not so far away and thought that with all this unplanned training the quest threatened to become too long.

"Later," he said. "First we should move on."

Naruto nodded and strode off to pack his stuff. Sasuke spotted Karin glaring at the blond in her most unfriendly manner.

"Hey, Sunshine!" she called him. "How about you do something useful if you're stuck with us?"

Naruto looked up. His face looked like that of a tiger ready to attack.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could carry my bagpack which contains food, part of which is now in _your _stomach!"

Karin tossed him the bagpack. Taken by surprise, Naruto collapsed under its weight. Smirking, the woman returned to her business.

Naruto shouldered the bagpack. He spied Juugo coming out of the grove and gave him a significant look. To his dismay, Juugo turned back the moment he caught it. Naruto turned toward Suigetsu who grabbed his water jerrican and hurried after his teammate and pretended to be engrossed in a serious conversation that started from: "So how are the birdies?"

Naruto groaned and dragged himself up to Sasuke with the look of a person who had just suffered the end of the world.

"The four-eyed lady hates me," he complained.

"What do you want me to do?" Sasuke asked calmly. "Hate her back."

* * *

_Sometimes he dreams in black and orange and silver of the three children bound by friendship and rivalry. __There is a girl with riant eyes and a boy whose face he cannot remember. The girl is gentle and caring; the boy is arrogant and efficient. He can't express how much they mean to me, but they slip away, leaving him cold, lonely and blind._

_He sees the boy soon enough. He has become a man and he still wears the mask. Only one dark attentive eye stares at him; the other is covered by the forehead protector. He wonders if the man has lost his eye too. _

_But there is a red ey__e beneath the forehead protector. And he points at it in the middle of the fight and says:_

"_This is my eye."_

"_You wish!" the boisterous ninja who is really good at Kage Bunshin no Jutsu yells._

_He counters his attack swiftly. For now he is more than interested in the silver-haired man and he doesn't want to be disturbed. _

_The man tells the others to keep out of the fight. He flings a shuriken that is meant to crack the orange mask.__ Tobi dodges it. His mind is racing. He came to stop the Leaf shinobi from… From what? Why is he even here?_

"_It looks cool on your face," he mumbles. "My eye."_

_Kakashi attacks again. He is silent and highly professional as he has always been. Tobi__ grabs him by the hand, surprised he could stop him, and pulls him closer. _

"_For all I know, the one you're looking for might already be dead," he says._

"_What's your interest in this?" the Leaf jounin asks. His voice is deeper now, more masculine and just as cold._

"_I know you," Tobi murmurs. "How do I know you?"_

"_I asked you a question."_

"_Pray you'll never know it, Kakashi." Tobi lets him go and disappears._

_He's done his job. He's held the Leaf up. No matter how much he needs Sasuke-kun to win, the boy must do it alone. It'll be easier to get what he wants__ if they do not reunite._

_He flees before another turn of the tide brings _him_ out of the depths. He wonders briefly if the silver-haired man knows him too._


	4. Deeper Water

Chapter 4

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ + Sasuke continues training Naruto; conflicts swell within Team Hebi; the pursuers get closer. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Stay With Me (Unlikely)_ by Celldweller.

**A/N**: Aren't you sick of me yet?)))) Anyhow, THANK YOU all a thousand times for all your wonderful comments! I love you, guys, know that!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_**Deeper Water**_

_Whatever words they say (me who said it)  
whomever they betray (me who did it)  
whenever they're awake it makes me die_

Naruto was sitting on a stub trying to keep his face attentive and devoid of emotions. With Sasuke looming over him, silent and in search for proper words, it was far from easy.

"Your problem is the lack of reserve."

Naruto's expression went blank. A few seconds later a familiar look (the one that identified him as 'dead last') appeared. Sasuke prepared for a lengthy explanation.

"You get worked up too easily. Bitterness, resentment, annoyance – you save it all drop by drop and pour it out in the form of the Kyuubi's anger. I can't really say why you lose yourself so quickly. Maybe I am the reason."

Naruto almost flinched at that. Sasuke hastened to go on.

"But you are so much stronger than that! You should stop relying on it to keep you safe. It has already given you everything it could. Now you have to go on by yourself."

"That's not true," Naruto said stubbornly. "I mean I don't get worked up that easily–."

"Really?" Sasuke's eyes acquired a cruel glint. "People hate you, you know that? Mostly because of your lack of self-control. Oh, and because you have a monster inside you. Number one loudest ninja, huh? Well, that's about the only thing where you can reach the top." With every word that hurt like a knife wound he drew closer. Naruto stared at him, dumb-struck. Sasuke's face was so cold and haughty that it resembled an alabaster mask. Obsidian eyes remained empty. "Nobody likes you. They care for you only because you might lose it one day, and the tragedy of sixteen years ago will repeat."

Naruto clenched his fists. The day he had learnt of his predicament came back to him. For a moment a whitish shape of Mizuki-sensei flashed before him.

"That's not true," he whispered apprehensively. 'I can't move. Why can't I move, dammit?' "Not anymore."

"Of course not," Sasuke mocked him. "However, truth is in the eye of the beholder." His voice dropped to a sinister hissing. "What of your teammates? Do you really believe Sakura likes you? She pities you because no other girl would even notice you! And from what I've seen of Sai, 'friend' to him is just a vocabulary word. And your teachers!" He lowered his head and laughed coldly. "They probably see the Fourth in you because – that does it, doesn't it? – you have blond hair and blue eyes! But this is where the similarity ends because, let's face it, Naruto, you have always been and always will be dead last."

Naruto growled and threw himself at Sasuke. Rage spilled forth in a loud groan that died down to a choked sob as Naruto willfully pushed it back. The genjutsu dissolved. He was leaning into Sasuke shaking, his hand ready for the punch, but Sasuke wrapped his fingers around his fist and held it firmly.

"See?" he mouthed. "You may not have lost it, but you were dangerously close. Next time–."

"So how are we gonna train?" Naruto asked wearily. "Are you gonna throw insults and me and trust me to ignore them?"

Sasuke pretended to consider the thought. "No. That's what we have Karin for. We're going to spar."

So they did. Blood hammered through Naruto's body, driving excitement, saturating his every cell with joy. The Fox inside him pricked up its ears. It was still drowsy, shaken by the way Naruto had repelled its might earlier, and as apprehensive as ever. The Fox despised Uchiha, but it had to admit the boy was good. But not nearly good enough to defeat Madara.

The Fox smirked at the pang of nostalgia mixed with loathing at the memory of his former master. It would be a pleasure to devour him once it's free.

"That's not true," Naruto breathed as they sat down to have a quick meal before setting out to reach Hebi. "What you said inside the genjutsu."

"It doesn't matter if it's true or not," Sasuke said. "What matters is that you're strong enough on your own. I consulted Karin about your native type of chakra; she says it's amazing. It's exactly what allows you to bear with the presence of such a powerful creature within you. You should stop waiting for it to save your ass and you should gain better control of your emotions. Then, I'd say, you still stand a chance."

Naruto grinned. Wasn't this nice? 'Did he just echo Kakashi-sensei? Guess I should have learnt the theory better.' He moved closer to Sasuke, smiling sweetly at his displeased demeanour.

"Why, you actually said something encouraging to me!"

"Yes," Sasuke muttered. "Now pretend that it didn't happen, and let's go!"

* * *

They found Hebi at the river bend. Glares of sunlight swarmed over the clear water.

"It's about time," Karin said gruffly. "Sasuke, there's someone after us. Three people, to be precise."

Naruto's heart gave a violent leap. Damn! It sounded like Team Kakashi was on the move. Torn between the two desires (to be found and to keep them out of this mess), he glanced at Sasuke and noted with amazement that he was smiling.

"I've expected them sooner," Uchiha mused. "How far are they?"

"Two days behind us, but they're getting closer. No dogs this time–."

Sasuke shook his head. "Kakashi's summonses are dogs."

"It's going to rain soon."

Naruto looked back at Juugo. The man talked so rarely that his voice sounded foreign and a little shaky. Naruto squinted at the clear blue sky.

"How do you know?"

A bird that he failed to spy before flew off Juugo's shoulder and disappeared behind the trees. The little bird on a giant's shoulder had looked strange, the sight creating a striking contrast between what there was on the surface and what there might have been deep down inside.

"I just do," Juugo replied and returned into his usual apathetic state.

Sasuke gestured for the team to move. Naruto hated the thought of running away from Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't listen to him. He ventured softly so that only Sasuke would hear:

"I still think we'd do better with some extra help."

Sasuke's face darkened. Naruto directed a searching gaze at him and pursed his lips decisively.

"We've already been through this," Sasuke said.

"They _will_ find us! And when they do, I'm sorry, but I'll fight on their side!"

Sasuke ignored the heat that filtered into his voice. The conversation was over. Naruto clenched his teeth in helpless fury. He caught Sasuke's attentive glance and it popped into his mind that he was getting angry _again_. He tried to analyze the reasons, but he had always been bad at this. He tried to shove the anger back and got even more distressed.

The run came to a halt soon; Suigetsu sat down and reached for his jerrican.

"I need a break," he whined.

"Suigetsu, you idiot!" Karin snapped. "We're being followed!"

"It's all right, let him drink," Sasuke interrupted her. "We do have five minutes."

His cloak rustled softly, sweeping the carpet of dry grass. He wandered off into the grove; Hebi remained on the clearing.

"Freak," Karin muttered vehemently under her breath, glaring at Suigetsu.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably under the Mist ninja's studious gaze. A few strands of bluish hair fell over his face. His lilac eyes remained placid with a tinge of deeply hidden mockery. It enraged Naruto.

He wondered if every Blood Mist shinobi had a big sword, pointed teeth and bad personality.

Suigetsu's attention was getting tiresome.

"You got a problem?" Naruto asked.

The young man shrugged. Sunlight played over his skin like golden liquor.

"Not really. Been wondering, though: what's so special about you that Sasuke tinkers with you so much?"

He walked past Naruto, flashing his most charming smile at him.

Naruto pondered the role of Team Hebi in the game Sasuke was playing. 'A bunch of jerks,' Uchiha had called them. He had said he only needed them as long as they were useful. Naruto never knew Sasuke could be _that_ cynical.

He summarized what exactly he knew about Hebi. Two of them had been Orochimaru's test subjects and the woman had worked for him. Their goals remained obscure and their loyalty to Sasuke debatable. Not to mention, one of them was a thief.

Naruto walked up to the zanbato rising vertically from the ground and touched its hilt carefully. No doubt, it was the same sword.

"Oi, how about asking permission first?" Suigetsu exclaimed.

"I bet you didn't ask Zabuza's permission when you stole it from his grave."

Suigetsu's smile broadened. "What of it to you? You didn't know him."

Naruto closed the space between them and opposed Suigetsu, never breaking the eye contact. Suigetsu smirked. 'Looks like wonder boy is picking a fight,' he thought contentedly.

"I was on the team that defeated him," Naruto said. "And I know what respect for a fallen enemy is."

The Mist ninja opened his mouth to reply – and suddenly received a hard punch in the jaw. His head liquefied involuntarily. Naruto recoiled. Wiping her wet fist briskly, Karin hissed:

"Seems like you're looking for trouble! What is it with you, water instead of brains?!"

Naruto stopped listening to their bickering as he made out a long high-pitched moan that floated through the air. He threw his head up. A web of sighs and half-choked sobs formed all around him. Suigetsu and Karin fell silent.

Juugo was gripping his head as if in pain, his torso rocking back and forth. The muffled sobbing that had caught Naruto's attention died down abruptly.

"What's up with him?" Naruto whispered. He wanted to help, but instinct told him it was better to run. Apparently Suigetsu and Karin had the same idea.

"You don't want to stick around to find out." Suigetsu pulled him by the sleeve, and Naruto gave in to his survival instinct.

The moment they took off Juugo raised his head and shrieked violently. Naruto had never heard anyone pouring that much agony and fear into a scream. He looked back over his shoulder. Black stains spilled onto his skin; Naruto was promptly reminded of Sasuke's terrifying shape during the fight at the Valley of the End. Juugo's bone structure was changing. His skin darkened and his eye apples became black whereas his irises blazed bright, infernal.

Juugo opened his mouth, and a horrible scream tore out of his lungs: "Kill!"

Suigetsu ducked as the monster gained in on him and attempted to crush his spine with a rough blade that appeared to have shot from his arm.

"Fuck!" Suigetsu exhaled. "We could use the Head Cleaver right now! If using a stolen sword to save your butt doesn't go against one's code of respect for fallen enemies."

Naruto gave him a dirty look. Juugo lost interest in the Mist ninja and rushed at Naruto; the youth stumbled and the monster's hand constricted around his throat.

"You have power!" Juugo bellowed. "I want to kill you! They are nothing but garbage!"

Naruto struggled to breathe. A shadow clone tapped Juugo on the shoulder. The monster turned his head briskly. He threw up his hand, tossing the clone aside. Naruto freed himself from his grasp and produced another clone.

'He's too damn strong to take out with a simple Rasengan! Damn, do I really have to use–?'

"Juugo!"

Naruto blinked. The monster froze; a thick snake coiled around his body, its scales glistening in the dim sunlight. Lulled by its monotonous hissing, Juugo stared blankly at Sasuke who strolled up to him, his Sharingan gleaming blood-red. Naruto held his breath.

Suddenly Juugo cried out. The snake was gone. His features bled back into normal; he tore at his hair in horror and fell on his knees in front of Sasuke, pressing his forehead against Sasuke's solar plexus. His body was shaking. Naruto realized with a start that the man was crying.

They walked back to the clearing in dismal silence, collected their belongings and ran forth from their pursuers.

The river meandered amidst the grass; its gentle purl accompanied them on their way. Naruto found himself looking at a small island on the far side of it. It was broad there and resembled a lake. The island was covered in bamboo; its stems bowed to the wind noiselessly. The sky above the brushwood acquired that juicy blue colour that would only end in storm grey. So it did a few minutes later, and the pregnant clouds rained cold above the quivering plants.

Rain sped up towards the opposite bank. It moved like a shuriken and hit precisely overhead. Naruto watched the sand beneath his feet darken and flatten. Playful streaks of rain licked his cheeks.

Hebi walked faster.

"There's no point going up given the circumstances," he heard Karin shout over the noise. "We'd better go on foot. The rain will considerably slow us down, but same goes for them."

A chain of their footprints flowed smoothly between them. Naruto looked back. A step being made, the footprints disappeared, swallowed by the sand.

The rain stopped as they reached the hills glistening with damp emerald grass. They came up and down the sleek slopes rapidly. The sky cleared up and was the smoky dark blue of a late evening. A few pale stars twinkled overhead.

They made camp in the middle of a valley. Sasuke kindled a strong fire so as to light the faces of his companions while they had their meagre meal.

Completely worn out, Naruto fell asleep before dinner was ready. Sasuke watched him with vague curiosity. He couldn't remember if Naruto had ever zoned out hungry. A smile touched his lips. They shared few common memories, perhaps too few, but Sasuke didn't want to lose them.

Night fell swiftly over the plain. Juugo kept watch, Suigetsu and Karin asleep. Sasuke couldn't get rid of his dark thoughts. He never wanted to hurt Naruto. Yet it was the only way to tear him out of his heart. Forget. Forget him once and for all.

The past few days exhausted him. He tossed and turned in his bedroll, suffering from ague-like shivers, unable to get warm. Wet hair stuck to the back of his head. Sasuke cursed softly under his breath and got out of the bedroll. The grass was damp and the air smelled of moisture. The night was so cold that Sasuke felt soft prickling in his fingertips. Karin curled up by the fire; Suigetsu lay sprawled on the grass, enjoying its wetness, the dreadful zanbato at his head.

Sasuke walked slowly around the fire. It was probably the coldest summer night he could recall. He spotted Juugo's broad back in the distance and strolled up to him. He didn't want to talk; neither did Juugo, but upon seeing his leader, the man said quietly:

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," Sasuke replied quickly. "It's not your fault."

"I could have killed him. The one you need more than us all."

Sasuke chuckled. "I doubt it. Naruto can be… unpredictable."

Juugo's handsome face bore an unmistakable mark of self-loathing. Sasuke knew the feeling only too well, but he refrained from any signs of compassion. That weak desire to console his teammate reminded him of a dying animal: it lifted its head, released its last breath and passed away. Sasuke didn't know Juugo and didn't want to help him.

"I must find a way to pay you back while I still can," Juugo said.

Puzzled, Sasuke left him alone and walked back to the fire. His bedroll looked less than attractive and so did the entire prospect of spending a few more hours on the chilly ground. Sasuke would have preferred to stay on foot, but he desperately wanted to sleep.

After a brief moment of doubt he lifted Naruto's blanket and crawled carefully underneath it, positioning himself next to the blond. Naruto's clothes were dry and his body felt warm and alive. Sasuke pressed himself against the blond. Naruto's eyes snapped open. Sasuke covered his mouth with his palm and hissed in a low voice:

"One little comment about this, and you're dead." Naruto blinked in astonishment. "I'm freezing," Sasuke confessed and went on perplexedly: "They say the best way to keep the body heat is, you know, human contact."

His voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper. Naruto nodded slowly. Sasuke removed the hand and closed his eyes. He thought he heard Naruto chuckle, but he didn't care: sleep weighed down on him like a thick snow cover, and he let it bury him in hopes that no nightmares would come tonight.


	5. Mine and Yours

Chapter 5

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ + Team Hebi loses two members; Sakura re-evaluates her feelings for Sasuke and Naruto; and Sasuke hates Naruto for reminding him how his life could have been. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Opening dialogue from _Naruto_ Chapter 144. Lyrics from _Zoe Jane_ by Staind.

**A/N**: Thank you for your amazing reviews, guys! hugs Now, this chapter is a bit on the humorous side. I thought I'd write it that way because soon there will be major angst. Humour is pretty difficult for me to write, hope it worked out fine.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_**Mine and Yours**_

_And I know that your eyes see straight through me  
And speak to me without a sound__…_

"_Sasuke-kun, thank you for saving me from the grip of sand__."_

"_No… The one who saved you was Naruto."_

"_What? No way! You're just being modest! Surely Naruto is getting stronger, but that Sand guy–."_

"_It's the truth. He risked his life to save you. Up till now you haven't really seen him, so you haven't seen his strength either."_

It was unbelievable that they had once lived a different life. Sakura smiled shyly to her thoughts. There had once been a life… without Naruto.

She felt angry and forlorn. She blamed the rain (not only it held them up; it must have also dispelled the scent and made it harder for Pakkun and the other dogs to gain in on Sasuke) and her general nervousness. She snapped at Sai earlier and now regretted it bitterly, yet in a way it reminded her of the way she used to snap at Naruto whenever he did something that annoyed her. Sai took her behaviour as calmly as he always did; it made her feel even worse.

"What's the matter?" Kakashi asked. "Sai stopped smiling, and you suddenly feel uncomfortable?"

"No, not at all." Sakura couldn't help laughing. "I'm glad he stopped using fake smiles." She braced herself and added: "Kakashi-sensei, did you ever have this feeling that your entire life is the epitome of the saying 'You never know what's precious to you until you lose it.'?"

Kakashi paused before giving an answer. "You mean Naruto?"

"Part of me wants to believe Sasuke-kun won't do anything unreasonable. But then again…"

Sai's silent gesture put an end to her musings. Sakura looked up. A tall man appeared in front of them, blocking their way. Light streamed down his body, making his golden hair shine like tongues of fire. He moved forth; shadows slipped down his face like a mask, and Sakura noticed how solemn and _broken-hearted_ he looked. She couldn't suppress a pang of sympathy.

"I was looking for you, shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village," the man said expressionlessly.

"What for, I wonder?" Kakashi parried.

"I owe Uchiha Sasuke everything." Sakura shuddered at the way he pronounced Sasuke's name. There was so much passion and pain in it. "You will have to go through me if you want to get to him. But I must warn you."

He took the fighting stance. His voice sounded a little breathless as he uttered the last phrase; Sakura felt cold.

"You might be making the biggest mistake of your life."

* * *

Morning was warm in contrast to night, and humid. Sasuke buried his face on something soft and battled a sudden fit of laziness. Sunlight crept up his cheeks treacherously, preparing to sparkle in his eye, and Sasuke didn't want to wake up. The night was full of incoherent mellow sensations, something he hadn't felt since he was a child.

Naruto called him by name softly. Sasuke wanted to tell him to leave him alone and remembered with a start that his 'pillow' was actually Naruto's shoulder. He sat upright and glared at Naruto, still sleepy and a little fuzzy.

"Heh, good morning to you too," Naruto said.

It forced an unbidden smile out of Sasuke. He shook his head, driving the sleepiness away, and got out of the bedroll.

"Hey," Naruto stopped him. "I wanted to thank you." Sasuke froze without looking back. Naruto's voice sounded strained; it was hard for him to utter such words. Sasuke understood him well enough. "You're a pretty good teacher."

"I may forget I heard that," Sasuke softened and added matter-of-factly: "If you forget you heard me say you're a pretty good learner."

He didn't look back as he walked towards his team, but he knew Naruto was grinning.

Sasuke's good spirits expired as soon as he saw Karin's face. The woman looked worried, angry, annoyed – and a little flirty as she always did when she had something important to inform him about.

"Juugo's gone." Sasuke accepted it with a blank face and waited for her to go on. "I can still sense him. He's going back. I'd say the risk of him meeting our pursuers is getting higher."

Sasuke cursed under his breath. Juugo had said something about paying him back… He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. If Juugo dealt with the Leaf, it would save Hebi a lot of time.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke ordered, "go look for him. We'll be on the move." When the Mist ninja was off, Sasuke grasped Karin by the elbow and pulled her closer, ignoring her eloquent look and theatrical blush on her cheeks. "Look, Karin…"

"Yes?" she beamed at him.

"Don't mention this in front of Naruto, will you?"

That wiped the smile off Karin's face. She pursed her lips distastefully and said evenly:

"Oh. Of course."

It was surprisingly easy to deceive Naruto. When he asked where 'the big guy' and 'the water guy' disappeared, Sasuke got off with one word: "Reconnaissance."

* * *

The fight with Sasuke's teammate had been exhausting. Kakashi stood by the tree trunk, struggling to adjust his breath. Treacherous weakness made his limbs feel heavy like lead. The use of the Sharingan always left him powerless.

"I feel great," he lied innocently, catching Sakura's inquiring look. As a true medic-nin, she didn't quite believe that but let it slip for the time being.

"I don't want you to endanger yourself like that," she said strictly. "You're… You're all I have now."

She turned away; faint blush was creeping up her cheeks. Kakashi smiled. A fit of coughing interrupted the awkward conversation.

"I think if you remove the mask from time to time, it might make it easier," Sakura suggested.

Kakashi shook his head. The mask was made of special fabric. It never made it hard to breathe. "It's funny that we've never seen your face, don't you think? You never told us why you wear this thing."

"You never asked."

Sakura giggled. Once the three of them, the original Team Seven, tried to see what there was beneath the mask…

"Would you really tell us? Or would you play a trick like the last time?"

Kakashi remembered it too and laughed. "That was no trick! You wanted to see what there was beneath the mask _at that moment_. Well, I did show you, didn't I?"

Sai who was asked to look around for more 'surprises' was due to be back soon. Kakashi squinted up at the sky and then at the solemn girl beside him. She no longer thought she was weak. She no longer needed saving and protection. He doubted if he could do anything for her now that she was strong and lonely. Except maybe cheer her up a bit.

"So you want to know why I never remove the mask, don't you?" he asked. Sakura blinked at him. He continued in a low tempting voice: "The reason is simple, yet terrifying. It tells so much about my character that if people knew they would probably use it against me in any way possible."

He leaned into her, chuckling to himself at her eyes, wide open with shocked curiosity, and whispered conspiratorially:

"I don't remove the mask…" His hushed voice sent shivers down her spine, "because _I don't want to_."

A few seconds later Sakura burst out laughing. She couldn't stop even when Sai finally returned to the site of their halt and gave her a questioning look. His lips twitched upwards slightly. Kakashi felt the lightness fill him up, rising like sparks of sun in an empty vessel. It was time to go.

* * *

Before Naruto joined Team Hebi, Sasuke used to have a strong dislike for halts. The time originally designed for recreation and musing turned into a nightmare because of Karin's crude flirting, Suigetsu's chattering and Juugo's occasional outbursts. Now that Suigetsu and Juugo were gone, Karin's ardor subsided. Sasuke guessed she must have felt a little like a third wheel with him and Naruto. For Sasuke's part, it was very convenient.

He liked the newfound peace. He liked watching Naruto mess around with firewood and jump aside pouting when he would finally release Katon to start the fire. He liked watching him eat, sleep and even squabble with Karin from time to time.

_Want him dead_, he would whisper sometimes in his mind, whenever the pain got too intense. _Want him gone, gone, GONE FOREVER, want him dead, broken, non-existent. No smiling, no calling me by name, no chasing me, not being with me, no making me feel sorry, no making me want to go home…_

Sasuke picked up Naruto's headband and examined it curiously. A hair stuck to the black fabric. The forehead protector bore a few scratches, proud evidence of battles, but otherwise it looked shiny and well cared for. Acting on a strange impulse, Sasuke put the headband on. Three years passed since he had last worn a Konoha headband. Any headband, for that matter. It felt odd around his head now.

"Looks good on," Naruto commented. Sasuke failed to notice when the youth had woken up. "You can get one for yourself in the Hidden Leaf Village free of charge. There's lots of them."

Sasuke chuckled humourlessly. Naruto disentangled himself from the bedroll and trotted up to him.

"That's a new colour," Sasuke said because he felt like saying something to keep Naruto from promoting the village.

"Yeah, the old one's in shreds. And it goes better with my new outfit!"

"Still can't say no to orange?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's flashy," Sasuke explained with a hint of contempt. "How are you supposed to be stealthy if you're seen from a hundred miles around without the Byakugan?"

"At least I don't dress like a call boy," Naruto pouted.

Sasuke made sure to give him his most neutral face that clearly said: I'm choosing a way to put you to the most gruesome death imaginable. Naruto burst out laughing.

They took a walk through the sleeping field. They walked so close to each other their knuckles almost brushed akin against skin, but they never took each other by the hand. Neither of them spoke, unwilling to ruin the almost sacred silence.

Naruto smelled of fire. Sasuke could feel the aroma coming off his skin and hair and clothes scorch his throat with every inhale. It was a warm smell. Sasuke remembered his father teaching him the Katon technique.

Naruto was all warm and sunny. Soft tan glowed smoothly all over his skin. His sweatshirt was open, and Sasuke could see the black t-shirt with the Leaf symbol. Probably the same t-shirt he was wearing when Sasuke came to ask for his help.

Sasuke took the headband off and handed it to Naruto. Naruto accepted it wordlessly and hung it around his neck. It hopped up upon his collarbone as he walked.

"Uhm," Naruto said finally. "I guess cute little Uchiha kids that would call me Uncle Naruto and wear orange after me are out of question?"

The absurdity of his words hit Sasuke like a blast wave. He froze on the spot and turned his head slowly. The picture began to form in his head and when it was clear he burst out laughing. The laughter was high-pitched and very candid.

"Are you doing it on purpose?" he asked breathlessly. Naruto answered with a genuine grin. "Where the hell did you get this idea anyway?"

"I probably picked it somewhere along the lines 'My name is Uchiha Sasuke. My ambition is to kill a certain man and to revive my clan.' Last time I checked such things involved a woman and a bunch of kids."

Sasuke's mind was racing. He forced a sardonic smile and replied in a low, conspiratorial voice: "Of course. After we kill Madara, I'm going to marry the first woman I'll meet (which will probably be Karin, so thanks, but no thanks) and have a dozen of kids who will need glasses by the age of the Sharingan awakening."

He decided to play along while Naruto was in this funny mood. He envisioned a gaggle of cute little dark-eyed Uchihas, spoilt by Naruto's influence, running around the restored Compound waywardly, and a faceless woman chuckling softly at their spree. He cut the vision short resolutely; it would never come to be anyway.

"Whatever," Naruto snickered. "Just leave Sakura-chan to me."

"Oh, we don't match. It's the gene pool. What if our children have spiky _pink_ hair?" He ruffled his own hair casually. "It would look like hell with orange jumpsuits."

'The pink and the orange do match,' he thought with a pang of melancholy while Naruto was choking with laughter. He recalled with distaste how much he wanted him dead just an hour before. No, Naruto had to stay alive. He always got the view of Sasuke's back, struggling to get what could never be his, much like Sasuke had always remained behind Itachi.

Naruto crashed on the grass and lay there, sweeping his hands over the long stems. Sasuke sat beside him, smiling gently.

"Admit it, you're having fun!" Naruto prodded.

"Oh yes, the time of my life! And quit acting like it was your idea to join me!"

They laughed again, together, and it felt even sweeter than good old times because those times had never actually been good. There had been sunlight and the heady smell of autumn leaves, yellowish whirlpools of ramen and starry nights much like this one, competitions and the rustling of the pages of another _masterpiece_ of the _Icha Icha_ series; and everything had been obscured by the insatiable lust for revenge, black as a pool of ink.

Sasuke's fingers brushed Naruto's hand. He leaned into him to say something nice (because a friend deserved something other then 'hello, loser!' from time to time). Naruto shifted; their foreheads collided. Sasuke lost balance and collapsed on top of him. Both of them exhaled sharply and snickered at their clumsiness. Sasuke looked at Naruto, trying to decipher the look in his eyes. His lips hovered over Naruto's cheek, too hesitant to touch it. Naruto held his breath.

Sasuke kissed the dark line across his cheek. He thought he always wanted to know what it felt like. It was coarse, a little like an aftershave cut that had only just skinned over. Sasuke moved to Naruto's lips.

A few moments later the blond broke the kiss.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I'm returning it," Sasuke said. "I don't want to keep anything that's yours anymore."

Naruto didn't spit and made no faces.

"The Naruto I know would punch me," Sasuke smirked.

"I would. Can't free my hand, though."

Sasuke's studious gaze drifted over the youth's body trapped beneath his own. They seemed to have melted into each other, especially where the black of their clothes came into contact. Uchiha released Naruto's hand carefully and watch the youth clench and unclench his fist to warm up the numb fingers.

"Argh, get off me, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed irritably.

Sasuke rose. The playfulness expired without a trace. The sharp cut of his mouth became thinner.

"So much of what's mine is yours," Naruto murmured. "A kiss wouldn't make any difference." Sasuke flashed him a questioning look. After a brief pause Naruto elaborated: "My thoughts."

"Then learn to think of me like I'm dead," Sasuke said.

* * *

He remembered asking Itachi once what a person should do if he saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

Mother asked them to bring flowers for the festival that was supposed to be held inside the Compound that night. She tore Itachi off his textbooks and pushed him out into the beautiful sunny day and told him to take Sasuke with him.

"Yes, Mother," Itachi replied calmly, grabbed Sasuke by the hand without asking and tugged him along.

It felt great to walk through the village with his brother. Sasuke noticed they didn't call him 'Itachi-chan' anymore, not even Auntie. Everyone switched to 'Itachi-kun'. Sasuke waited anxiously for the moment they'd start using '-kun' with his name.

Itachi left him waiting outside the flower-shop. He got tired of waiting soon enough and wandered aimlessly towards the bushes where a few butterflies were flitting above the flowers. He entertained himself by watching the butterflies when he heard soft sobbing.

Sasuke craned out his neck. He could see no one, yet the sound persisted. The boy walked around the bushes carefully and spotted a boy of his age sitting on the grass and trying desperately to choke down the tears. Uchiha clan led a life separate from the major Konoha community; some rumours and gossips reached them later than regular citizens. However, everyone knew Uzumaki Naruto. Adults refrained from discussing him. He was known as a prankster who had no friends, and they said he'd never become a shinobi. Those like him, they would elaborate, were a burden to the village.

Sasuke didn't feel pity in its traditional sense. The feeling had more in common with _cognation_. Suddenly the boy lifted his head and stared right at Sasuke with his huge blue eyes. Sasuke took off and ran until his breath became ragged. For some reason, he was afraid to talk to Naruto after what he had seen. Naruto had always impressed the others with his casual, devil-may-care aura mixed with such young age and wanton behaviour. But now he was crying, and Sasuke feared to show him he understood him.

"Brother," he said to Itachi when they came home. "Uhm… What do you do if you saw something you were not supposed to see and you know that that person saw you too and… well…"

"Depends on what you saw," Itachi responded, not bothering to look away from the vase which he was arranging the flowers in.

"Nevermind," Sasuke said softly. It was not his secret to tell.

How many years had passed? Ten? Eleven? Sasuke wondered why the image of Naruto inevitably mixed with his memories of Itachi these days. Itachi as he used to be while still _pretending_.

'It's that word, brother,' he came to a conclusion. 'Feels like I suddenly have too many brothers.'


	6. The Lives Of Fire

Chapter 6

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Now there are two of them, and their enemy is approaching to deliver the killing blow. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Bodhisattva Cathedral_ (Hellsing OST).

**A/N**: Well, I guess this has already become AU… I hoped it would last longer, but it definitely deviates from canon post-chapter 395. In my fanon-verse Sasuke has never met Madara… until this chapter, lol! And I'm still following Tobito theory. I hope you'll keep enjoying this fic regardless of what's going on in the manga. Thank you for all your amazing reviews! You guys make my days brighter.

Also, I received a few questions about what Sasuke was 'returning' when he kissed Naruto in the previous chapter. Well, he was returning their first kiss from three years ago)))

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_**The Lives Of Fire**_

_Searching within me__,_

_You who only hates,_

_You lead me in heaven, going about pleading…_

_He has lived beyond pain, solitude and even death. His death, he remembers in a bright starburst that threatens to consume his mind if he meditates on it too hard._

_He lay on the bedding of hard rock at the river bend beneath the overcast sky as a single ray of white light traveled leisurely over his ruined breastplate pressed hard into his flesh. His breath came out in short rasping gasps. He prayed darkness would come and claim him sooner._

_The First knelt before him, a mask of anguish upon his valiant face._

"_Madara… Your children will always have a safe haven in the village."_

_He laughed brusquely. "My children will destroy it one day."_

"_Peace, my friend! No more talks of nothing; you know what power the words of a dying man possess."_

_Madara's lips curved into a sinister grin. Oh yes, he knew it as well as the First knew – and that's exactly why he spoke so openly._

"_Tell me… _f-friend_," he hissed, "do you loathe yourself now? How hard is the pain to bear?"_

"_I did what was necessary," the First replied smoothly. His features bled back into a calm face of a _hero_._

_Blood welled up in Madara's throat and suddenly gushed forth in a violent wave. It splattered over his chin, a deep-red stain over the marble of his skin. Past the cough, he tried to laugh._

_The First got up and began walking away slowly. Madara laughed and couldn't stop as his pulse grew slower bit by bit. Stroke, just one more stroke. Once more, he had won. Only the First hadn't realized it yet._

'_I shall stop you,' the First had said, 'even if I have to tear out my own bleeding heart. I shall save you.'_

_Darkness closed in on Madara. For a split second it frightened him. He didn't want to die. He wanted to call the First back, to feel the warmth of his fingers curled through his own fingers one last time. But in the end, death wasn't something you could fight off even with the Sharingan. And he, the father of the great bloodline, was in the end powerless._

* * *

He watched her as she stood motionless, fingers forming a special seal. Karin hated being disturbed at such moments (even by him), and so he held his breath, waiting for her to speak.

"I give up," she announced grudgingly in a few minutes. "He's too far away and getting farther pretty quickly. At this rate I can tell you the approximate distance but I can't tell you where he's going. As for Juugo, I don't feel him _at all_."

"That's not possible. He couldn't have gone _that_ far."

"It is," Karin replied nonchalantly, "if he's dead."

Sasuke pondered it for a while. If Juugo died, it released him from his tiresome duties; with Naruto by his side who was almost as troublesome as Juugo, Sasuke could not be happier about it. On the other hand, Juugo was strong and more devoted to him than the other two.

"If he stopped the Leaf we should be thanking him," Sasuke said thoughtfully. "He served his purpose."

Suigetsu was another matter. Karin had once said that he was just "pissy because he got his ass kicked." Sasuke had told him before that their target was not the Akatsuki, but Madara alone. Still, Suigetsu couldn't forget the embarrassing battle with Kisame and sought to complete it in a more suitable way. Sasuke judged the Mist ninja had simply run away to square off with his enemy.

Karin froze. "Hang on, I sense something."

Sasuke glanced at her patiently. A fibre on Karin's temple was pulsing.

"Well?" he pressed carefully.

"One person," she informed him. "He's getting closer. No, wait! Stopped. Feels like he's dancing around us." Karin narrowed her eyes. "I think it's the one you're looking for. The chakra seems very familiar. Much like yours."

Sasuke smiled. It felt as if a piece of a jigsaw puzzle finally took its place in the picture. The time had come to drop the lumber.

"I want you to find Suigetsu," Sasuke ordered. "Then you may get back to us."

He never expected Karin to leave peacefully.

"You've gone mad!" she exclaimed. "You might not be able to pull it off as easily as you did with Itachi! You can't fight him alone!"

"I'm not alone," Sasuke protested.

Karin spun around on her heels to face Naruto. The blond blinked. He came up a few seconds ago and was not up on the matter yet.

"Him?" Karin fumed. "Him, really!? Look at him, he's worse than Juugo! He can't even–."

"I appreciate your concern, Karin," Sasuke interjected, his face impenetrable. "Thank you very much for your help. Now please go get Suigetsu."

She was not his friend. She was not even a proper underling. When she left Sasuke felt nothing but relief. Team Hebi was a short-lived addition to Uchiha Sasuke's quest. With it no longer by his side, he felt stripped and pure. Only one thing remained, only one person to keep him bound to reality.

"Come on, Naruto," he said quietly to the blond and walked on without looking back.

* * *

"Uhm… what's the plan?" Naruto asked after they made camp in the evening.

Sasuke, agitated as he was, didn't want to stop. He understood that they had already searched everything within the range of Karin's technique, but he felt too anxious to sit and wait. Naruto teased him about it, saying he should use the same methods he had told Naruto to use controlling the Fox.

Finally Naruto made him rest. More like pushed him on the ground and refused to go on. And of course he began asking questions.

"No plan," Sasuke answered. "We let him find us and then we kill him."

"Great plan," Naruto snickered. "Not exactly of the Shikamaru quality, but… Hang on, why would he want to find us? I thought–."

_Because I have a bait for him_, Sasuke thought darkly. But then, Naruto didn't have to know about it.

In a few hours anxiety was swept away by his usual peaceful melancholy. Sasuke sat on the ground, his arms around his knees, and looked at the starlight rippling over the dark sky. The plays of colour enchanted him. He could feel Naruto watching – not the sky, but him. They had been doing it since the beginning of that ludicrous journey: observing each other, clenching their teeth and failing to drive the pain away.

"Why do I get the feeling you have a question?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto moved to sit closer to him. "I do. Sasuke." His voice acquired the desperate firmness Sasuke had known since the Valley of the End. "You told me to think of you as if you were dead. But you are very much alive. Can't you see there is no future ahead of you? I tried to coax you; now I'm pleading: come home with me!"

He fell quiet. Sasuke's mind wandered. He looked up at the stars and had a detached thought: 'Kind of like fireflies that aren't moving.'

Sasuke's voice jarred the stillness. "Is my future in Konoha? You know, there's something I can't get off my chest. Ever since my family died, I've lived for revenge. But in the end I think… what if they deserved it?"

"What!?"

"What kind of a family lives this way? They had everything and they killed their friends and kinsmen – for what? More power? They caged themselves in this hunt for power. They were a foul brood of murderers whose power stood upon the foundation of blood and bones." Sasuke took a sharp breath. The words flowed, and he couldn't restrain himself. "What if in a way _he_ was right?"

Naruto touched his shoulder gently. "But you're not like that. You didn't kill me."

Sasuke shook his head. "I didn't kill you because I didn't want to follow in Itachi's footsteps. If not for that, you'd have been dead."

"I don't believe you," Naruto cut him off. "Why don't you want to get the Mangekyou Sharingan? Because of the blindness? Or because it requires to kill someone?" He pulled Sasuke by the hand, making him turn round. "Or because it requires to kill _me_?"

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. He looked at his _friend_ with unveiled sympathy and said softly:

"Don't fool yourself, Naruto. I'm not a good person."

* * *

_Reality bites. It's a simple saying that Tobi knows. But dreams, he learns from personal experience, bite harder sometimes._

_Tobi walks towards the clearing where the battle will take place. He knows they are waiting for him. He knows the man inside his head is waiting for it too. Tobi doesn't have to go there, but he does while he is still in control because he hopes it would help him solve some riddles and maybe, just maybe, get rid of those dreams where he gives his eye to a silver-haired boy._

_They have different goals, the man and him. But maybe not so different, after all. They both want back something that belongs to them. The man claims it has been stolen from him and now is the time to get it back. Tobi doesn't want to know what 'it' is. All he wants is his memory. So he joins forces with the fearsome man and keeps walking, ignoring the voices that ring in his ears._

* * *

He was never a good person. The blood that flowed in his veins defined him – and it was cursed blood. Why did Naruto put such faith in him then?

"You know," Sasuke drew out thoughtfully, "I think I had a good time."

Naruto stood opposite him. His face showed such a mixture of emotions that Sasuke himself was never capable of. He envied Naruto on that account.

Naruto was sad, angry, excited, concerned, annoyed – all at once. His heart was leaping out of his chest; Sasuke knew this because his own chest, too, was suddenly tight with sorrow. The final battle would not change things back to the way they were.

Naruto couldn't decide whether to scream at him or hit him or agree with him. Instead, he closed the space between them, grasped Sasuke by the forearm and pulled him closer. He tilted his chin up a little and covered Sasuke's lips with his, timidly at first, and parted his lips with his tongue, sucking him into a greedy, sloppy, painstakingly sincere kiss.

Sasuke responded tiredly, messily, unsure where it had to end. Naruto's parched lips felt a little rough. Sasuke closed his eyes.

He wondered why Naruto was doing this. The first and the last time he dared kiss him was years ago, and it was done to spite the girls. Sasuke had already paid him back for that kiss. So what exactly was _this_?

"Nobody's watching," Sasuke whispered with a bit of irony when the blond pulled away.

"I know. I just wanted to–."

"Naruto, this is stupid!" Sasuke freed himself from the youth's grip and eyed him as if pleadingly. "Now you're gonna tell me you're–."

He broke off. In the end, it would bind them closer than ever before; it was the last thing Sasuke wanted.

In truth he wanted to… To hit him, yes. To drive him away. To make him hate the very idea of bringing Uchiha _home_.

Because there was no home.

"I'm what?" Naruto asked stubbornly. "Sasuke, I–."

Uchiha tensed and gestured at him to be quiet. A surge of familiar power went through him like a jolt of electricity. Too familiar. Almost as if Itachi was alive again.

It was drawing near. Its master didn't even preoccupy himself with disguises. Naruto and Sasuke took the battle positions, back to back, and waited. Finally a man in the Akatsuki cloak emerged.

"You again!" they breathed in unison.

A single eyes stared at them curiously through the eyehole in the mask.

"Oh, hi!" the Akatsuki chirped. "You two seem familiar. Have I fought you before?" Naruto glowered at him. "Oh, you're Itachi-san's little brother!" the shinobi went on, addressing Sasuke. "Poor Itachi-san… Oh, and you are his obsessive Leaf friend!"

"We have no time for you!" Naruto bellowed, the two of his shadow clones attacking simultaneously. They turned to nothing in a blink of an eye.

"By the way," Tobi said as if having remembered something. "Sasuke-kun killed Deidara-senpai. I should probably avenge him, he was such a good senpai."

By the end of the sentence his voice began to change. Sasuke stiffened. It was a barely perceptible change of the tembre, a few powerful notes added to the melody. Naruto rushed at his opponent, but the Akatsuki promptly threw him backwards. That was new: he only let their attacks pass through him before but never bothered to counter them.

"But first I should thank Sasuke-kun."

A glare of crimson behind the orange mask induced Sasuke to activate his own Sharingan immediately. He could only guess why he hadn't done it sooner. Paralyzed with shock, he heard his own weary voice utter: "Naruto… It's him…" before the Akatsuki shoved his hand into Naruto's stomach and everything around them exploded with red.

Sasuke ran towards Naruto writhing on the ground. No matter how fast he ran, he could not get closer, as if lost in a never-ending labyrinth of darkness. 'Why aren't you fighting back?' his mind shrieked at him; he wasn't sure whom he meant: Naruto or himself.

"This is a fine gift for me, Sasuke-kun!" Madara laughed joyfully. "I thought I'd have to look for my Jinchuuriki. You saved me a lot of time. Now that Itachi is dead I shall have your eyes and I shall have my Demon back."

Sasuke fell on his knees. Naruto's animalistic features stood before him. He could see the seal on his skin burn through the clothes. Madara's fingers constricted around Naruto's throat. He lifted the youth and drawled mockingly:

"I admire your stance, boy. You remind me of your father. You want to protect that wretched village, don't you? You don't even know it. The Hidden Villages are cancer. Once I'm done with you, only one place of power shall remain. It is remarkable how much your father was willing to sacrifice to save that rotting place. His life and his only son – and all for nothing. He simply delayed the inevitable. It's nothing personal, Naruto-kun. He was a great man and a great Hokage, much like the Shodai. But all he did, he did in vain."

A flicker of consciousness shone in Naruto's eyes. He listened greedily to the astounding revelations. The Fox paced in its cage, trembling with anticipation.

Madara dropped the youth on the ground, never breaking the eye contact, and activated the Mangekyou. Its fading power should be enough to release the beast. After all, a pair of young eyes was waiting for its new owner just a few metres aside.

Madara turned towards Sasuke, smiling contentedly behind the mask. He knew Sasuke had broken the genjutsu off the moment the youth ended up behind his back, attempting to drive the Kusanagi into his spine. The founder ducked, and the blade barely cut his cloak.

The Jinchuuriki lost himself – and lost to the mind of the Demon. Basking in dark satisfaction – the closest thing to happiness he knew in sixteen years – Madara laughed triumphantly. One, two, three, four… The tails kept growing.

Sasuke fired a continuous chain of flame at his adversary. It spiralled around Madara, setting the swaying grass ablaze. The wind covered the field with the carpet of red.

Sasuke looked up. He was totally unprepared for it, torn between the overwhelming feeling of self-loathing (what the hell was he thinking when he brought _this_ upon Naruto!?) and desire to fight. He couldn't explain why, but he felt like a thirteen-year-old attacking his brother with useless dramatic threats again. But he had already figured out that his opponent could not use his eyes to the full extent. He wouldn't risk releasing the dreaded might of the three major techniques until the transformation was complete. Panting, Sasuke dashed towards Naruto.

The red chakra swallowed him completely. The form a huge ethereal fox stood before Uchiha snarling, its multiple tails whipping through the dry air. It was almost done. Sasuke's white lips moved noiselessly.

"Eight… Eight tails…"

One tail short of full awakening. Sasuke heard Madara laughing. He knew Naruto was not there anymore. The seal had been broken.


	7. Catharsis

Chapter 7

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ + A new deadly power shines in Sasuke's eyes, but the price he had to pay was too high. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Poem For Nobody_ by Charles Bukowski.

**A/N**: Before you kill me, I'll say: it was **necessary**. And I know what I'm doing, so please let me live and finish this story. We're still far from the epilogue. And thank you for all your amazing reviews so far!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_**Catharsis**_

_We are all_

_Museums of fear._

"Naruto!!"

A bubble of fire covered the field instantly, turning the grass to ashes. Sakura screamed again and rushed toward the raging monster. Kakashi held her in a strong embrace; she couldn't move.

"Sakura! This isn't up to you now." He glanced at Sai whose face seemed barely alive in the scarlet glow of flames. "You two get out of here. I'll deal with it."

"Kakashi-sensei!.."

"Go!"

He flung her in Sai's arms, and they ran. Sai clenched his fingers around her wrist so firmly she knew there'd be bruises. She looked back and saw Kakashi enter the raging storm of fire and chakra. It consumed him.

Fountains of energy thundered up to the sky. The air buzzed with the unmistakable sound of Chidori.

Sai pushed Sakura on the ground. She tried to protest, but he covered her body with his and wouldn't let her move. The sky above them was ablaze. An exploding seal went off somewhere on the field. Sakura screamed.

…Kakashi ran through the fire up to the monstrous form of the Fox. He was sure the binding seal wouldn't work on the eight-tailed beast, but it wouldn't hurt to try. He threw his hand forth – and it exploded with sharp pain as a shuriken pierced the skin. The scroll dropped on the ground and went up in flames.

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector to bare the Sharingan eye. The Fox darted aside, still writhing in the mind-numbing agony of awakening. And through the fire walked Kakashi's adversary – the Akatsuki in the orange mask.

…Sasuke shifted to Phase Two; glares of fire shimmered all over his greyish skin. He flung himself through the heat towards Naruto. The transformation had to be stopped before the last tail formed.

He propelled himself into Naruto's mind – or what had been left of it. The walls of the prison were shaking; the Kyuubi rushed about the cell frantically.

Sasuke broke through to the bars and pressed his palm flat to the seal. The Fox jumped up and peered at him through the cracked rods.

"There is nothing you can do, Uchiha! The kit is gone. Only you and I will remain!"

Sasuke's throat went numb, unable to release a scream. The Nine-Tails' jaws clenched around his hand. It drove its fangs deeper, tearing into the flesh until it grazed the bone.

A strange feeling surfed through Sasuke. He had come to claim his possession and he wouldn't leave without it. Dizzy with pain, he held on as the Fox sucked on his chakra ruthlessly. Naruto belonged to him; he had known it since he first entered his mind. He wanted not the Demon's obedience; he wanted Naruto.

'How could I be so–?!'

"Look at me," Sasuke said listlessly. "Kyuubi no Kitsune! You and him both belong to me."

The Fox burst out laughing. The pressure on his hand loosened, but then the teeth sank deeper. Blood trickled down Sasuke's chin as his own oversized fangs plunged into the softness of his lip.

"You do not possess the power to subdue me," the Nine-Tails exclaimed. "Soon I shall be free! Your eyes will be the first thing I shall devour!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Just a little more. He could feel the Fox's chakra weaken. He held his gaze fixed on the monster and channeled the power with his Sharingan persistently. Water boiled at his feet.

A blast of energy pushed him out of Naruto's consciousness and into the fire. A seal exploded nearby. Sasuke reverted back to his usual form, feeling weak and drained. His hand was blackened, covered in blood and blisters; he felt no life in it.

He looked around for Naruto. The tails blazed like torches. Sasuke heard a shrill female scream. The flames grew incredibly bright, and another blast wave threw him many metres away. He spat off thickly, blood coating his lips, and tried to ignore the terrible pain spreading through his body.

Something gleamed faintly in the scorched grass. Naruto's necklace. Sasuke picked it up and stared at it blankly.

* * *

The explosion left a tingly feeling in the air. It smelt strongly of chakra and ashes.

Kakashi knew his primary goal was to discover the Akatsuki's identity, not to kill him. Suspicions that had been tormenting him day and night since their last meeting grew more intense; he felt that he had to rip that bloody mask off his face at any cost and see his face. Only then could he go on fighting.

However, the explosion messed up his plans. The air rippled. Kakashi activated the Mangekyou as the last resort, attempting to hold the masked man up. He noticed the Akatsuki (Uchiha Madara, as he claimed to be called; for the past month ANBU managed to gather frightfully little intelligence on him) wasn't using his Sharingan. It must have taken the best of him to awaken the Fox.

Streaks of familiar chakra in the air caught his attention. _Naruto…_ It was the last thought that flashed through Kakashi's mind before he fell into oblivion.

…The fire was washed away in a matter of seconds. Sakura staggered through the field. The heavy smell of ashes came off the soil still sizzling with heat.

Sai called her, pointing at the figure of a masked man on the ground. Sakura ran up to him. Kakashi got up, shaking, and whispered hoarsely:

"Naruto…"

He was lying at the bottom of a huge crater; a glistening layer of his own blood covered his skin, turning it crimson. Sakura fell on her knees beside him and felt his pulse.

"Naruto! Don't you dare die, don't even think about it, you hear me!?"

No matter how hard she tried to deceive herself, there was no heartbeat. Not even the faintest beat. Sakura stared at Naruto's still form, wide-eyed, covered in bruises and unsusceptible to ache. She tried to start his heart. A net of multiple cuts spanned all over his body. She tore his sweatshirt open, lifted the t-shirt and knew instantly that every single rib had been crushed. Dark bruises marked internal bleeding, clots and areas where the bones had nearly pierced the flesh from the inside. His body was ruined; no medical technique could fix that.

Sakura broke. She pressed her forehead against his chest and screamed. Tears fell on his skin where warmth lingered like in a piece of rock heated by summer sun. She poured her remaining energy into a medical jutsu; it flowed through her fingers, and she wept.

Kakashi tried to pull her away. Sakura gripped Naruto's shoulder, refusing to let go.

"Sakura," Kakashi admonished softly. "There is nothing you can do. I'm sorry."

She clung to the dead body as if it were her last resort. She could not believe it. She _refused_ to believe it. Let go? She rejected the very possibility of it. In the end she simply lay on the smoking ground, her head on his chest, and cried. She thought she had never cried so hard before.

* * *

Sasuke turned around and ran. He had crept up as close as he could without having been spotted by the Leaf shinobi, and he had seen Sakura spend all her tears in agony.

He ran until his lungs threatened to give out. He collapsed on the ground, holding his injured hand close to his chest. His head hurt. He blinked his eyes. Suddenly they felt heavy, as if soaked in blood. His Sharingan was being reformed.

Sasuke knew: the moment had come. The three tomoe connected into the genuine Mangekyou Sharingan.

He gasped in pain. It shot through him, disturbing every cell in his body, setting him on fire, plunging him into the chilly fever. It seemed to him that he was not alone anymore. Hundreds of ghostly figures enclosed him.

"No!" he shrieked. "Don't touch me!"

The world around him shook. His mind supplied a memory, and he sank into it, spluttering and struggling to breathe. Sunlight hit him in the face and fresh tears stung the cheeks.

…Sasuke was six, and he was biting his lips to contain unbidden tears. His hand hurt terribly. The skin was reddish and sort of bubbling. He couldn't look away, paralyzed with pain and fear. He bit the inside of his cheek and whimpered plaintively.

"Don't restrain yourself," Itachi said. "Just cry."

"You wouldn't cry," Sasuke murmured. "Neither would Dad."

"Sasuke, sometimes tears are not a sign of weakness. Our emotions require release and so does our pain. Sometimes tears are a cure. Take advantage of it while you can."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He inhaled sharply. Tears streamed down his cheeks, healing him. Itachi took him by the injured hand gently and applied some medical ointment.

"Feeling better?"

"Mm-hm," the boy sobbed. "Sorry I disturbed your practice." His face brightened into a coy smile. "Best not to tell Mom how you screwed up that jutsu." Itachi narrowed his eyes. 'Screwed up' wasn't exactly the term he'd have used. "That's _the_ fire jutsu, right? Our family technique? Will you teach me?"

Itachi chuckled and poked him in the forehead teasingly. "Maybe tomorrow, little brother."

Sasuke rubbed his head and pursed his lips. Itachi left the main point unsaid, and Sasuke could feel it hanging in the air: 'Grow up first.'

The memory dissolved, leaving Sasuke in shock as the long-forgotten pain from his brother's fire justu swelled into the mind-numbing agony of the Kyuubi's bite. His new sight revealed the newfound beauty of the world to him. He lay on the ground, looking at the sky that was suddenly pure and brilliant. Tears dried on his cheeks.

He rose and walked, shaking, with no direction until his legs refused to carry him forth, and he collapsed under a small tree in the nearest grove and fell into tentative sleep.

He dreamed of a raft carrying him along the smooth current of the Nakano river. He was a child and he felt small and light compared to the majestic infinity of water. He was lying with his hands underneath the back of his head, squinting up at the dazzling sun above him. His brother sat quietly beside him, his eyes dark and solemn and untainted by the blinding Mangekyou…

* * *

"Sakura-san?"

The girl's hand froze in midmotion. She looked up at Sai who squatted beside Naruto and returned to her sombre task. She had almost finished washing the blood off of Naruto's skin. He looked pale now, though not the cadaverous pale she would have expected. Sakura bit her lip.

"Yes, Sai?"

"I recall reading once that when a friend dies," he said a bit perplexedly; the whole 'friends' subject was still new to him, "you should say something nice to commemorate him."

"They do that sometimes…" Sakura admitted. "You want to say something?"

Sai averted his eyes.

"I'm not sure I even have the right."

Sakura put down the tissue and reached over Naruto's body to cover his hand with hers. Her fingers were chilled with droplets of water; blood thickened in half-moon clots of red beneath her nails.

"Of course you do," she said softly. "You may not have known him long enough, but you were his friend, weren't you?"

Sai glanced at Naruto bashfully. Sakura smiled despite herself: she found this sudden fit of coyness quite touching.

"Naruto-kun," Sai whispered solemnly. "You may not have had a great penis, but you… er, had a great personality."

Sakura burst out laughing. It was so out of place and it seemed bizarre to her to say such things right over the body of their fallen teammate and moreso, laugh at that. But she couldn't restrain herself. Tears splattered over her face. She found herself in the middle of laughing and sobbing uncontrollably; her shoulders were shaking, and at the sharp inhale she forced herself to stop the miniature fit of hysterics and smile at Sai who looked petrified.

"I didn't–."

"I'm sure he'd love that," Sakura interrupted him.

Sai's lips curved into a small genuine smile. Sakura loved it when he smiled like that. His face looked innocent, soft and a bit childish.

Sakura brushed her fingers against Naruto's chest unwittingly. Something caught her attention; she lifted the side of the jacket and stroked the fabric of his t-shirt. It was rough and frayed; stains of blood dried across it in disarray.

"What is it, Sakura-san?" Sai asked curiously.

"Naruto's necklace," she murmured in surprise. "The green one. He never took it off. It's not… It's not here."

"It must have slipped when he…" Sai trailed off. After a rather uncomfortable pause he said quietly: "Why don't I go look for it?"

Sakura nodded absent-mindedly. He wandered back to the battle-field; having cast a final glance at Naruto, Sakura walked to sit beside the sleeping Kakashi. She placed his head on her lap, pressed her fingers to his temples and focused on directing the chakra into its regular pathways.

He woke up and released a slow, painful sigh.

"Lie still," Sakura told him. "You were so close… I thought you'd–."

A few lines of wrinkles encircled Kakashi's eyes. "You think what I did was foolish, don't you? You are being subjective again."

"You won't lose your 'precious comrades'," Sakura's voice turned bitter, "but you'd rather lose yourself! You're worse than Sasuke-kun. At least he does all those crazy things because he's young and stupid."

She effaced herself and cut her uncharacteristically bold speech short. Kakashi's dark eye sparkled merrily.

"Hn, being _old and smart_ as I am, I expect you to trust me to do what I think is right." She opened her mouth to object and felt his fingers wrap around her fingers gently. "You think that if I let you go, Naruto would have survived, don't you?"

Kakashi's voice grew weaker. Sakura strengthened the chakra stream to keep him from passing out. She was afraid to be alone. His presence always made her feel confident, even if he lay helpless recovering from the Sharingan shock.

"Kakashi-sensei…" she began speaking.

"I think under the circumstances it's about time you start calling me 'senpai'."

Heat crept up on Sakura's cheeks. Kakashi closed his eye; his breathing became even and deep. She knew he wasn't asleep, but she was secretly happy they didn't have to talk anymore. She feared she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears.

Sai returned and sat quietly next to her. Sakura glanced at him without much hope; he shook his head.

"What do we do now?" he asked a few minutes later. "Go back home?"

Sakura's lips twitched involuntarily. She gathered the remains of her willpower and forced herself not to look at Naruto's body in the grass.

"We should find Sasuke," Kakashi said unexpectedly. Sakura's eyes grew wider. "He is still here somewhere."

Sakura blushed. She hadn't even thought about Sasuke. For all she knew, he might have been dead or dying, and she hadn't even…

Sakura felt dizzy. She needed to ponder the events of the past few days alone. She heard Kakashi say, "Just don't wander off, okay?" and nodded vaguely, and walked quietly away, bracing herself because she felt cold and lonely. She wished Naruto was here; he was always incredibly good at cheering her up, even when she had thought him to be an annoying moron.

The field rolled into a small grove with the power of a river stream. The grove grew thicker as Sakura went on, looking over the ground absent-mindedly in her subconscious search for solace and Naruto's necklace. She halted by a small pool where smooth, slim tree trunks rose from the greenish water. She stared at its lustreless surface. Her eyes were painfully dry. She wished she could cry again, cry more without stopping, but her eyes failed her.

Snapping out of her numb grief, Sakura looked around. The world was perfectly still, glazed with translucent light, smelling vaguely of smoke, and foliage, and water. The sun didn't stop shining, the wind didn't stop blowing just because someone she loved had died. Bitterness flooded Sakura. She gritted her teeth. They couldn't just leave it be, could they? The only way to forget this nightmare was to avenge Naruto.

She turned back abruptly, planning to discuss it with Kakashi, and stood stock-still, not having the strength to take her eyes off of a dark figure under the tree. Her lips moved in spite of her.

"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun!!"

She ended up on her knees beside him. He was covered in blood and bruises, his shirt torn to shreds, and he clutched his right hand to his chest protectively. The skin on it melted and stretched, deformed and scarred; blood coated the blackened livid spots.

He was half-conscious. He tried to fix his dull gaze upon her, but she supposed he didn't recognize her. He opened his mouth, but instead of words, only a short gasp came out. Sakura touched his forehead tentatively. Fever broke out; he was so hot as if he had gone through flames.

Sakura looked around. Reluctant to leave him, she thought she'd rather wait for Sai or Kakashi to find her. Sasuke groaned quietly before falling into an agitated sleep. She could only guess what kind of dreams tormented him.

She sat silently beside him.

And then the tears fell.


	8. The Renegade

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Cold and embittered, Sasuke wants nothing but revenge. Why won't they let him go? Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Kokuin_.

**A/N**: This was originally meant to be one big chapter. But in the end it turned out so big that I had to split it into chapters 8 and 9. Here's the first part of 'The Renegade'. Oh, and guys, thank you as always for your beautiful reviews! You keep the sun high up on my sky.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_**The Renegade**_

_For twenty seven years_

_I've always sought the Way._

_Well, this morning we passed_

_Like strangers on the road._

The raft rocked on the waves gently, sailing toward the setting sun. One by one stars lit up in the velvet sky. Sasuke watched them, enchanted.

"Has anyone ever tried to count them all?" he asked.

"I'm not sure that's possible," Itachi replied without delay.

Sasuke chuckled. "I bet you could. What with the Sharingan and all."

He turned to demonstrate his brother a reassuring grin to prove his faith in Itachi's uncanny abilities. But Itachi was no more. At least, the Itachi he used to call his brother. What he saw was a ghost in the Akatsuki cloak, his eyes shining with the deathly glint of the Sharingan he never switched off. And Sasuke was not a child anymore. He was sixteen again, brimming with helpless hate.

The raft sped up. The river boiled menacingly.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" Sasuke whispered vehemently. "You're dead. You _died_."

"You are the one who doesn't let me go," Itachi remarked coolly. "I stayed to watch you eradicate another brother of yours."

"Shut up! I'm not like you. I'm not a murderer."

Itachi lowered his hand, scooped up a handful of water and released it, watching the droplets return to the whole. Over and over again, a never-ending circle of simple motion. They were the drops, Sasuke and him.

* * *

The first thing Sasuke saw when he woke up was a hand slowly reaching out towards his eyes. Instincts kicked in; his fingers clenched around the delicate wrist short of bruising it. A short gasp followed.

"Sasuke-kun! It's all right, it's me…"

He blinked his eyes (they seemed to have stopped hurting) and saw a cover of leaves overhead, greyish clouds torn to shreds by the rising wind – and a vaguely familiar face framed with juicy pink hair.

"Sakura…"

Green eyes stared at him, wide with concern and bitter sorrow. Sasuke released her hand and tried to sit up.

"I'm f–."

The rest of the phrase was swallowed by a desperate scream. Fire shot through his arm, spiraling down to the hand. It burned with unimaginable pain. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to breathe past the agony. The scream rang in the air. Sasuke caught his breath and glanced at his blackened hand.

"I haven't started with it yet," Sakura whispered guiltily. "Lie still, please."

He felt too powerless to argue. He relaxed his muscles and lay quietly, pain seeping away slowly, while Sakura worked on his ruined hand. The memory of the Kyuubi's jaws plunging into it, anger and desperation suffocating him was a raw wound in his mind.

Slowly, not even having noticed it, Sasuke fell asleep again.

He woke up eternity after, and there was no one around. He could hear voices in the nearby: Sakura's gentle whispering and non-committal grunts that, he judged, pertained to Kakashi. Sasuke struggled to get up and looked around. The Leaf ninja were behind the bushes; he could distinguish the dirty bordo fabric of Sakura's outfit through the verdure.

His hand was wrapped up neatly in a clean tissue. He found it hard to move his fingers. They felt numb, as though wooden. He thought Sakura must have anaesthetized him.

He made a few weak steps and was relieved to know he could walk. His knees wobbled, but that weakness was temporary. Orochimaru's training had increased his healing abilities greatly; he was past the crucial point and would recover quickly.

Sasuke's heart was thumping. Somewhere behind these bushes there lay Naruto, cold and breathless and still, and Sasuke knew that if he went there, he would have to come face to face with excruciating guilt and sorrow. He had had enough of this. He turned his back on the Leaf ninja and reeled deeper into the whispering grove.

His knees buckled. He came to a stop and inhaled sharply, his throat and his eyes suddenly burning with unshed tears. He wanted to squeeze them out, every single one of them, to spill that bitter salt over the body of his only friend. But all that he had was that agonizing burning sensation that forced itself to be reckoned with.

"Why can't I cry?" Sasuke's voice came out rasping.

'Shinobi don't cry.'

He lifted his head, and this time he was sure he saw Itachi standing a few feet away from him.

"Humans do," Sasuke protested softly. "I cried when Mom and Dad died. And you… I was so mad those were the tears of rage, but still, I cried for you. He deserved it a thousand times more."

'She cried hard enough for both of you.'

Sasuke clenched his fists. Hearing Itachi refer to Sakura so casually and remembering her screaming by Naruto's body, he shuddered violently.

The pain in his hand was beginning to break through again. It snapped him to his present problems.

"How are you here?" he spat viciously. "How are you always here? What kind of twisted game of imagination is this? You're only telling me what I'm afraid to tell myself."

'Face it, little brother, you are no different from me.' A hint of a smile touched Itachi's lips. 'You used him and then you killed him.'

Sasuke remembered Naruto's eyes when the seal had cracked and the red chakra had started leaking. Had he even realized what Sasuke had done to him?

He could see Itachi walking away. He ran after him, feeling his lungs swell with the craving for oxygen, and halted only when he ran straight through him. The vision disappeared. Sasuke stood shivering and still couldn't cry. The tears simply wouldn't come.

* * *

He returned to the campsite half an hour later only to witness a heated argument between the members of Team Kakashi concerning the sudden disappearance of Naruto. Sasuke frowned. His thinking was slow and when the realization hit him, he didn't dare breathe. The dead body had… _vanished_?

"…would probably take him, regardless," Kakashi spoke in the meantime. "As far as I am familiar with the Fourth's jutsu, it was supposed to kill the Kyuubi as well in case the container died. But for all we know, the Akatsuki might have a way of extracting the Fox nonetheless."

"But even Madara would not be good enough to do it under our very nose," Sai observed critically.

"I agree. Still, it's the only clue we have got so far. And I believe we should pay their leader a visit and ask him about it. However, if it weren't the Akatsuki–."

"But he couldn't just get up and walk away!" Sakura exclaimed. Something seemed to have dawned upon her, for she reconsidered her words and breathed almost inaudibly: "Or could he?"

Silence fell, the ninja pondering her words. Sasuke forced himself to move.

"What if he's alive?"

"He's dead," Sasuke interjected resolutely.

Kakashi glanced curiously at him as if having forgotten Sasuke was supposed to be there. Sai's expression didn't change, whereas Sakura's cheeks flushed.

"How do you know?! How can you explain this?"

"I can't. But he is _dead_." Sasuke's gaze drifted past his rumpled shirt that lay in a dirty heap on the ground; he decided against it and simply threw his cloak around his shoulders. "Anyway, thanks for your help."

"Where do you think you're going?" Sakura demanded. Her voice was never that powerful. Sasuke smirked on the inside; people changed.

"He's going to get Madara," there came a reply. Sasuke noted with satisfaction that it was Kakashi who spoke. Good; he didn't want to deal with enraged Sakura anyway. "Alone."

"You can't!" Sakura snapped to screaming. "You're still sick!" As she got only the view of his back, she took out a kunai desperately and darted it in his direction. It dipped into the soft earth a few millimetres away from his heel. "You will listen to me!"

Sasuke froze without turning back. Sakura's voice trembled as she spoke, but as her speech progressed, it became steadier and more resolute.

"I'll tell you everything now! It is your fault that he's dead! He's given up so much for you, he trained so hard, he barely slept and even… stopped acting… like an idiot! And it was for you! All he thought about was you! And you… you… You have no right to go there and just die after what you've done! If you want to leave, then leave, but not before you get better and retrieve his body! If it weren't for you, he'd be still alive! You knew he'd go with you because he couldn't say no to you!"

Dumb-struck, Sasuke listened to the words that began to mix with half-choked sobs. Itachi's words popped into his mind, _'You used him and then you killed him,'_ and he felt utterly disgusted with himself.

"Other people's feelings and actions are not my responsibility," Sasuke retorted icily.

Sakura screamed: "You're just a bloody coward!"

Sasuke turned to look at her. He felt her resolve shatter when her tear-filled green eyes met his, dry, black and impenetrable. He picked up the kunai and approached her slowly. She was a tightened ball of nerves, but she held on, supported by the faith she put in her accusations. Of course she was right.

Sasuke placed the kunai into her palm and whispered:

"Next time aim higher."

* * *

He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone, not even Naruto. He had battled Itachi alone, and he had won; why should this fight be any different?

He strode through the field, maroon grass swaying gently all around him. Like a sea of sighs. Sasuke smiled bitterly. When did he become so poetic?

There was so much pain that he feared every new inhale would be the last.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called after him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth irritably. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

"Whatever you have to say, I'm not interested."

"And if I say I have the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

Sasuke froze. Kakashi drew closer with a deceptively slow grace but made no attempts to look him in the face.

"Suppose I want revenge," Sasuke said. "But what's your interest in Madara?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Here's a deal: you tell me what exactly had happened to Naruto and I tell you what you want to know."

A lump came up to Sasuke's mouth. Kakashi knew. Instinctively, deductively – no matter how, but he figured it out and practically asked Sasuke to confess.

Uchiha spoke. The words dropped listlessly, assembling a short and full report on that horrible night. He recalled the slightest details, trying to ignore the wretched persistence of Itachi's statement ringing in his ears ('_used him and killed him…_'), and when the story was near its conclusion, he suddenly fought the tears.

"I managed to shove the Nine-Tails back in its cage… and then Naruto's chakra seemed to have given out…"

"And what would the result be?" Kakashi inquired softly.

"I killed Naruto," Sasuke accentuated coldly. "What kind of result do you want?"

Kakashi hemmed thoughtfully. "So you have it." It wasn't anywhere near a question.

Sasuke's shoulders tensed. "I have it."

He recalled the pain that shot through his head once the Mangekyou was activated. It was beautiful, that enormous feeling of power, yet it frightened him. He wished he would stop thinking about the cost at which such power had been achieved.

Kakashi's visible eye curved slightly. "Let's take a walk, Sasuke. I will tell you about Uchiha Obito."

Forty minutes later Sasuke's mind was empty of any thoughts except the two: Kakashi told him the most personal thing he had ever shared with anyone of his students (it so happened that Sasuke and him had a lot of common secrets) and this Obito person could be an obstacle on the way to Madara. Sasuke analyzed the masked Akatsuki behaviour. He did act a bit like he had split personalities; up until now Sasuke was sure it was pretense.

Kakashi wanted them to go after Madara together. Fine. Sasuke clenched his teeth and nodded curtly.

"You don't want to kill him," he whispered. "You want to save him."

Kakashi smiled sadly. "Sometimes it's the same thing. Take your time, Sasuke. When you're ready to go, I'll show you the information we have on the Akatsuki. I believe it may be prudent to search for Madara on the way to his organization headquarters."

Kakashi turned to leave. A thought, random at first sight but suddenly more than significant, popped into Sasuke's mind.

"Kakashi-san," he called after his former sensei. "Is it true that the Fourth was Naruto's father?"

Kakashi hesitated and then replied simply: "Yes."

"How come no one told him?"

Kakashi turned to face the youth, and Sasuke promptly recognized the solemn, detached look Kakashi had given him years ago while trying to explain revenge would gain him nothing. How wrong he was, Sasuke thought with dismal triumph.

"Did you notice that Naruto never mentioned his parents?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke thought that they weren't that close to discuss such things. But then again, Naruto would have brought it up at the Valley of the End. "As far as I know, he thought they had abandoned him. Or died. He never asked who they were because he drove them out of his mind. He admired the Fourth as a hero of the village. How do you think he would have felt if he'd had to look at that face carved upon the Great Mountain and know it was his father? And how would he have felt if he'd known that his own father had sealed the monster within him?"

Sasuke turned his back on Kakashi abruptly. They gave him the time to think. Fine; he'd go with them, but first he would use the time to his advantage.

As he stumped away, his body suddenly weak and feverish again, Kakashi heard him mutter under his breath, "Liars."

* * *

The absence of Sai was the first thing Sasuke noticed when he returned to the campsite. Sakura was sitting solemnly by the smouldering fire; Kakashi was reading his book with enthusiasm. Just as Sasuke lowered himself on the ground wordlessly, he produced a scroll, unrolled it and held it out to Uchiha.

"The Akatsuki headquarters is located in Amegakure. Here is all that Jiraiya supplied us with on their leader, the man who calls himself Pein."

Sasuke skimmed through the scroll and glanced up at Kakashi without even bothering to hide disbelief.

"He thinks he's a _God_?" Kakashi nodded. "Great, we've got someone even crazier than Itachi." He mused for a while and finally asked: "So what exactly is this Rin'negan? I don't think I even heard of it."

"Technically speaking, the majority of shinobi believe that the Rin'negan does not exist. It is a legendary dojutsu of the Sage of Six Paths, the founder of the shinobi world." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Personally I had my doubts about it before the Fifth showed me Jiraiya's last message. But I wouldn't be too light-headed about it."

There was a touch of soft chastising to Kakashi's voice. Once again, Sasuke was plagued with a hard feeling that Kakashi was reading his mind. He was just thinking conceitedly that the Mangekyou Sharingan would certainly beat some crazy old dojutsu that sounded more like a product of Orochimaru's experiments than a real ages-old technique.

"Six bodies share the same eye technique," Kakashi went on. "It's hard to say who or what Pein really is. Certainly not a deity that he claims to be, but probably more than a man. Jiraiya killed one of the bodies, but they are prone to regeneration so I wouldn't be surprised if he resuscitated himself."

"But why would Madara go to him?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke stiffened and willed himself not to look at her. It was the first time she spoke during the discussion.

"If Madara has Naruto's body – and this is the only explanation of Naruto's disappearance that comes to my mind now – he would probably take it to the headquarters to try and extract the Nine-Tails if it's still alive. Which I highly doubt, to be honest." Kakashi cocked his head, watching Sasuke from the corner of his eye. The youth kept the same aloof façade and waited for the man to go on. "Anyway, why don't we try this and then, if it doesn't work, keep looking for Madara elsewhere?"

Sasuke replied with a non-committal "Hmm…" At that moment, he couldn't care less where they were about to go – to Amegakure or to the end of the world.


	9. The Renegade II

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Now that he's gone, there is nothing but pain. God will relieve Sasuke of it. Unless… Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Switchback_ by Celldweller.

**A/N**: I planned to get this chapter out sooner, but I got stuck revising the fighting bits. Guys, I'm sorry for any inaccuracy, but since Pein is pretty much a cannon fodder in this story and we still know so little about the Rin'negan, I didn't delve too deep in it. I re-read Pein vs. Jiraiya chapters a thousand times, but I still think the fight seems… weird.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_**The Renegade II**_

_Wait, how can it be too late  
Because I don't want to play  
W__ith such a price to pay,  
Chained to what I can't reclaim,  
I'll never be the same…_

It seemed they moved deliberately slowly. Sasuke couldn't manage a long run yet, so they kept the pace low, and it irritated him beyond measure. He kept his aggravation to himself, mainly because he knew it was for his own sake. He could also see that he was not alone in this predicament. Sakura hated it too. The thought of Naruto's body having been stolen by the enemy made her quiver with silent rage.

In time Sasuke learnt that Kakashi had sent Sai back to Konoha to ask for help. He wondered briefly if Sai would inform them about Naruto.

The Hidden Rain Village clearly deserved its name more than any other Hidden Village. It seemed to rain non-stop there. The overcast sky poured tons of cold water down on the thick land, intoxicated with it. Team Kakashi entered the village with no particular problems; that alone alarmed them.

"Seems like the rain is some kind of a defense mechanism," Kakashi mused.

Sasuke frowned. It seemed to rain only in this area. And the long industrial-looking street that ran straight as an arrow at their feet was empty. It seemed the village held its breath at the sight of the three resolute intruders.

"This is suicide," Sakura whispered. "Even if we find Madara or Pein, how are we supposed to fight? Wouldn't it be better to wait for Sai's return?"

"Konoha can't afford to send an army in," Kakashi objected mildly. "For all we know, Sai may return alone. For now, our mission is to locate them and retrieve Naruto if possible."

Sasuke started down the street, puddles splashing and rippling all around him. After a brief moment of indecisiveness Sakura joined him.

Water moved behind them. Sasuke felt the rain of shuriken pouring in their direction before he saw it. He grasped Sakura by the hand and ran forth.

"Wait! What about Kakashi…"

Sasuke had to duck abruptly to avoid collision with the projectiles. The last of Sakura's words drowned in the buzzing of rain and her own panting. Sasuke squinted. He couldn't even see Kakashi's chakra flowing behind that greyish tapestry. All he had was a knowledge that Kakashi was still there, fighting some invisible foe.

"He'll be all right," Sasuke said. "Come on, we need to get to Pein."

Sakura nodded and strolled after him wordlessly, still holding on to his hand unwittingly. She didn't know what Kakashi knew and she could only guess what was on Sasuke's mind at the moment. She thought, 'You can delude yourself all you like. I know you're doing this for Naruto, not for Madara.'

She raised her head and examined the walls. She knew their walk through the village was being carefully surveyed by the enemy ninja. And she saw them. Not the faces, not the weapons, just Rain forehead protectors, glaringly gleaming through the veil of water.

Sasuke came to a halt. Sakura stopped too, shortly before bumping into him. There were too many of them. She thought they could use a Hyuuga now.

By rights they should have done what ninja did under the circumstances: attempt to break through despite being heavily outnumbered. At least one of them would stand a chance of getting inside the tower. Sakura caught a glimpse of fervent persistence in Sasuke's eyes. He wouldn't stop now. His body was tense like an arrow ready to be sent in flight.

"Hey-ya, guys!" a familiar voice barked cheerfully. "Thought you might use some help!"

Sakura grinned as a huge dog halted right beside her. Akamaru's fur stuck up and bristled because of the rain. Kiba, seated comfortably on his strong back, winked at Sakura. She opened her mouth to greet him and heard a small voice report: "There's twenty more of them to the left; they're on the move!" Sakura looked up and saw Hinata standing on the overhead cover.

A placid, even voice uttered somewhere behind them: "Nasty weather. My bugs don't like rain."

A huge boulder rolled past them. The enemy ninja started bouncing off the walls. The thing collided into the midst of the crowd and rolled on and rammed the stone forcefully.

"Nice going, Chouji!" Shikamaru observed, taking his place by his comrades' side. Next to him, Ino snickered:

"Crude but effective."

"Sai and Captain Yamato are at the rear with Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru informed. His apprehensive gaze slid over Sasuke matter-of-factly – and into the mass of enemies. "Eh, this might be troublesome."

They rushed into battle, firing jutsu after jutsu. Waves of fire rolled through the swelling army of men, metal clanked, and above all that Akamaru's deep roar drifted. Sasuke recalled having fought alone against many opponents at Orochimaru's. He had no doubts he could take them all out, but he had to admit the reinforcement came in handy.

As soon as they made it to the foot of the tower Sasuke scanned the area attentively. It seemed the village was once again empty. The purifying rain kept falling over the bodies sprawled on the ground. Sasuke inhaled deeply and spat the water out; it tasted bitter like blood mixed with ashes.

The Leaf shinobi gathered together and stood watching the tower in dismal silence. A few of them had been hurt; Sakura and Ino worked to reverse the damage.

Sasuke squinted up at the tall building before them. Next to him Hinata released a slow, tentative breath. Veins bulged on her temples indicating the Byakugan was intensely active.

"Either we've just wiped out the entire village," Chouji observed, "or we'll get a load of surprises in there."

"I'd bet on the latter," Kiba smirked. "Well, Hinata? How many do you see?"

"Five… No, wait! There's the sixth! The five share an odd type of chakra… I've never seen anything like this before."

"It's Pein," Sakura said grimly.

Sasuke looked at the small girl attentively. "And the sixth one?"

Hinata stiffened. It seemed that she had only just realized that he was standing next to her all along.

Just as he was about to repeat the question, the girl shook her head.

"It's not him, S-sasuke-kun…"

Faint blush painted her cheeks in pink. Sasuke wondered if she felt guilty to be the bearer of ill news.

"The four of them are still. The two are moving."

"Suppose we cut the moving one off the sleeping ones." Shikamaru rubbed his nosebridge wearily. "According to Jiraiya-sama, they're pretty hard to kill. It seems he managed to take one body out, though. Now, we should avoid clashing with all five of them together at any cost."

"So what's the plan?" Kiba asked.

"We split, go in and try to keep them divided. If we're lucky, we'll get all of Pein."

Shikamaru's lips twitched involuntarily as if he were trying to contain a snort. He glanced up. Rain slithered down his cheeks. He balled a fist and raised it above his head staunchly.

"For Naruto, guys."

His voice sounded harsh and resolute. Sasuke gritted his teeth and looked away as the others echoed, "For Naruto."

"For Jiraiya-sama," Sakura added in a whisper.

They entered the tower and dispersed. The halls were dry and chilly. Their soaked clothes felt heavy on their bodies. Sasuke's anguish expired without a trace; only fierce determination remained.

They were already deep inside the maze when a low rumbling noise rolled through the halls. Sakura held her breath. The others must have located Pein.

The next thing she knew Sasuke grasped her hand, and they ran down the darkened hall so fast it felt like flying. The walls were shaking.

"Do you think they–?" Sakura had no time to finish the question. Something exploded behind them. She was sure it wouldn't pass unnoticed by Pein.

The ceiling crumbled. Dust poured all over them. Sakura gasped; a massive slab shifted and sped down towards them. Sasuke's grip on her wrist loosened. He jumped forth, but failed to pull her through. She regrouped in the air and hit the slab with her feet. It crashed on the floor, blocking the passage.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called, her heart thumping violently.

There was movement on the other side of the drift. Sakura pushed herself up to a small gap between the shattered rocks. With a proper leverage it could be used to clear a passage for her to get on the other side.

"I need a hand here."

Sasuke rose and examined the obstruction. He appeared unharmed. Sakura sighed with relief. Sasuke drew the Kusanagi, charged the blade with electricity and plunged it into the rock. Sakura jumped back, heated stone powder splashing over her.

"Wait! What are you doing!?"

The blow destroyed the gap, making the blockage insurmountable. Sasuke turned his back on it, impassive.

"Your safety is now my priority, Sakura."

As he walked further into the building, he could hear her screaming after him. He imagined she would turn back eventually and reunite with the rest of the group. They would probably find a way to break through, but it would be too late. Sasuke had to deal with Pein alone because Pein would lead him to what he wanted most.

'I'm sorry, Kakashi-san,' he thought grimly. 'I can't let you have him.'

The corridor stretched forth, long and featureless, so unlike the numerous Uchiha hideouts he had seen where the walls were traditionally marked by the fan symbol. Sasuke checked his weapons just to be sure and reached inside the pouch where he still kept the ikebana pebbles. Something long and crystalline rubbed against his fingers. He opened the pouch wider and peeked inside. Naruto's green necklace. Sasuke held it in his fist for a moment, then zipped the pouch shut.

The corridor ended abruptly in a vast cavernous hall, glaringly lit by some unseen source of light. Sasuke looked around and spotted a flow of chakra a few metres ahead of him. A woman clad in the Akatsuki cloak appeared, a delicate origami flower in her blue hair. Sasuke snorted. 'She must be the sixth.'

The woman spoke in a soft expressionless voice, "No one disturbs the God."

Sasuke's lips quivered in a semblance of a smile. That statement barely registered in his mind; he discarded it as naïve rubbish. 'Too bad we'll have to settle this without a two weeks notice,' he thought and shuddered inwardly: the thought sounded very Naruto-like.

"I am God's Angel," the woman said. "I can't let you pass."

Sasuke hated thinking like Naruto, but stupid ideas ('Good, never battled an angel before!') just came uncontrollably.

The woman's long fingers formed a seal rapidly. She burst into a swarm of paper birds that enveloped Sasuke like a cloud, cutting viciously into his skin. Sasuke moved on as speedily as he could within the rustling cloud, trying various taijutsu moved to counter the attack. Pieces of rough paper swirled all around him, changing shapes. It was a messy troublesome fight, different from the ones he was used to. He was barely able to dodge a sharp paper kunai aimed at the base of his neck.

Streaks of Chidori Nagashi rippled over his body. The paper was blown away. Sasuke spun around and formed the Fire Technique seal.

"Katon! Ryuka no Jutsu!"

A jet of fire sprung forth and swallowed the paper birds. The woman reappeared. As the flames dispersed, she fell weakly on her knees, layers of scorched paper coming off her skin. Sasuke ended up in front of her in a blink of an eye and drove the Chidori-charged blade into her chest.

He felt sick at the sight of the body which smelt of burnt paper, and the sharp whistling sound the Kusanagi made when he pulled it out. He wondered if he had really become like Itachi. He spiraled into the abyss and couldn't stop. The freefall was intoxicating. The time when he had refused to kill was long since over.

In the far corner of the hall there was a door and a winding staircase behind it. Sasuke took it and reached the top of the tower. Beneath the overcast sky, nothing mattered anymore.

He faced a tall man with long ginger hair standing opposite the exit. There was a steep behind him. The door simply led to an oval area that seemed like a runway…

…for angels.

And this must have been the God.

The man opened his eyes, and Sasuke saw a multitude of mesmerizing concentrical circles gleaming menacingly.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the shinobi spoke; his voice sounded as inexpressive as that of his deceased counterpart.

Sasuke lifted the sword, prepared for battle.

"Nice to finally meet you," Pein drawled. "You have given us quite a bit of grief."

"Where is Madara?"

"You speak to God, yet you ask of a man?"

Sasuke lunged at him, the shimmering blade of the Kusanagi bringing discord into the music of the rain. Pein leapt aside, his thick hair flying after him like a glistening train. He landed upon the rusty pipe attached to the wall. It turned to snake beneath his feet and attacked.

Sasuke jumped up. For a brief moment it felt like he was flitting over the village. He sprung at his opponent, but both the shinobi and the snake were no longer there. Pein's flat voice uttered somewhere at his back:

"Your eyes are nothing against mine."

Sasuke darted forward. He threw the sword up, forming the seals to strike. The speed was enough to finish before the blade touched the ground, and he could still intercept it. Rain stung his face like cold, solid needles.

Sharp pain pierced his wounded hand. He gasped; it reminded him of that horrifying feeling of the Kyuubi's teeth tearing into his flesh. The seal was failed; he leapt aside to cover himself from Pein's ninjutsu attack.

Sasuke caught his breath. His heart leapt in his chest when he glanced at Pein again. Instead of Pein, he saw Itachi, eyes gleaming with the ferocious glint of the Mangekyou Sharingan. The ache in his hand shot up to his wrist, and suddenly he knew…

_It was all a dream._ A fancy dream of power.

He had never gone to the Sound Village. He had never trained under one of the Sannin. He had never gained enough power to defeat his brother. How could he? He was weak, he did not possess the eyes, he lacked motivation. He had always been a mere nothing compared to Itachi.

His brother advanced, and Sasuke stood stock-still, breath caught in his throat. His hand was throbbing with pain. He prayed for this nightmare to end. It felt only just that Itachi should kill him now.

"You are in pain, Uchiha Sasuke," the strange voice said. And then Sasuke knew: it was a lie, a brutal illusion, yet it felt so painfully _real_. The pain persisted. "I shall relieve you of your suffering."

He found himself falling off the runway into the shatters of the ruined street. The wind howled around him. Light-headed and petrified, he kept spinning downwards, engulfed by the dizzying feeling of artificial happiness. He was going to die such a petty death, and he was ecstatic about it. What kind of a sick genjutsu was it!?

Sasuke tried to reason. That person up there could not be Itachi because…

'I am Itachi,' a thought came. It was weak like a dying bird; Sasuke tried to hold on to it and revive it. 'Itachi is here with me all the time. He lives on… inside me… He said I was strong enough… He thought I was…'

Sasuke heard a harsh sound of explosion. Pieces of broken rock flew up; one of them cut him over the forearm. He jerked, snapping out of the sickly illusion, and barely had enough time to regroup in the air. He landed onto what seemed to be a big shaking slab. It moved. Sasuke's knees buckled. He fell forward, his palm flat against some slippery green surface.

_Frog skin_.

A gruff voice rumbled: "Watch it, kiddo! I ain't no trampoline!"

Sasuke didn't dare move, didn't dare look up. From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a worn orange trouser-leg next to him.

He was alive. _He_ was alive.

"You came," Uchiha breathed vaguely.

It was almost too good to be true.

A boisterous voice answered cheerfully:

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Sasuke! But a real hero always shows up late!"


	10. Mounted On One Wave

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..." _Now that he's back all things will be different. 'Keep him close,' Itachi had said… Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story and chapter title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _The Book of Pilgrimage, II, 22_ by Rainer Maria Rilke.

**A/N**: Thank you for your amazing reviews, guys! To you I present a slightly longer-than-usual, crazy, sexy SasuNaru all the way chapter 10! I hope you like it.

Also, I made an insert scene before Itachi dies. It's necessary for the plot. Takes place between chapter 393 and 394 of the manga.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_**Mounted On One Wave**_

_You are the future,_

_the red sky before sunrise_

_over the fields of time._

Sasuke's lips trembled. He hated it. And he hated a small whimper that suddenly formed at the back of his throat and flew out before he could contain it.

Naruto held out his hand and helped him get up. The frog (the fearsome giant toad actually; Uchiha remembered having seen this monster once at the end of the Chuunin exam) leapt forward. The ninja stood atop its head, as if on the deck of a ship which sailed through a choppy sea.

"Whoa, what a freak!" Naruto exclaimed when he spotted Pein. "Always wanted to know if too much metal on your face affects the brain."

Sasuke smiled feebly at him, trying his best to uphold the mood. "Only one way to find out."

Naruto grinned. Sasuke's mind was racing. Was it really him? Was it not another filthy illusion, some twisted plot inside the plot? Was it not a Henge'd bunshin or some other intricate way to mock him?

Sasuke felt the overwhelming urge to touch him, to feel his pulse, to sense the thunderous race of blood in his veins. He could see the chakra swirling in its channels; Naruto was brimming with energy, alive, unharmed, _real_.

Sasuke dug his nails into his palm. _Enough_. He forbade himself to feel anything; that dizzying elation would only blind him. When he felt the hilt of his sword lie comfortingly into his hand again – just where it rightfully belonged – he felt strong again.

He concentrated on their movements, his and Naruto's. Dance-like, swift, synchronous. It felt odd to fight side by side with Naruto after so many battles against him. Sasuke recalled the sickening feeling that hit him when he tried to stop the ninth tail from growing. _Possession_. _Belonging_.

Sasuke let this feeling take hold of him and lead him. Now that Naruto was here, everything would be great.

Naruto performed his favourite jutsu, and the world around them became loud, bouncing and orange. Sasuke chuckled. One Naruto was a formidable adversary, constantly yelling, jumping around and screaming cheesy heroic slogans. A thousand Narutos was enough to put the planet upside down. The God should have been terrified.

They engaged in a ferocious battle. Every once in a while, Sasuke would fly past a Naruto which resulted in a series of accidental touches, exchanging of wry glances and silent agreements on how to act further.

Somewhere near the culmination the Fox stirred, waking up. Sasuke felt it acutely, its chakra crushing everything into dust and ashes. The rain fell like red-hot needles, charged with it; everything, everything, _everything_ reeked with the aftertaste of the Kyuubi's chakra.

It was maddening.

A low menacing growl spilled out of Naruto's mouth. It came from within, from the depths of that dark cage with sealed bars where the monster dwelled.

Sasuke wondered if he should let the events unfold so that the Fox would devour their enemy.

No, he couldn't risk losing Naruto again like that. Alive, Naruto was of much more use.

Sasuke's cloak billowed around his bare torso. He was cold and exhausted, his hand was killing him; he knew he had enough chakra only for the last strike. Naruto would have to finish it for him.

"Where is Madara?" he demanded of Pein one last time. Pein didn't reply.

Above them the sky was pumping with energy. Sasuke raised his hand. He could feel the lightning slide into his fist. The fire of heaven itself. The guy was done for. No other bodies would show up; that much Sasuke was sure of. Perhaps those Leaf losers were not utterly incompetent, after all.

Sasuke directed the blow at their opponent. He felt oddly satisfied. This had been one hell of a fight.

Almost all of Naruto's shadow clones vanished. Amidst the deafening noise and bluish sparks the Kirin scattered about, Naruto stood fascinated.

His eyes were blue. Plain blue without the touch of red. Did the Fox just relent? The wet air still buzzed with its boiling chakra, but there was no trace of it in Naruto's relaxed features.

Silence fell. The only sound that dared interrupt it was Naruto's breathless voice.

"Holy crap."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled wearily. Holy crap indeed.

They made it slowly towards their common enemy. Half-way to the shaking body Naruto threw up his hand and touched Sasuke's forearm gently, urging him to stop. Uchiha said nothing and came to a halt. Naruto walked on, his face an unreadable mask.

"You killed Jiraiya-sensei," he said listlessly. It was the first time he referred to Ero-sennin by his actual name. "You'll pay for that."

And then Sasuke saw it. The grand Wind technique, Rasenshuriken. It blinded him. It was beautiful. It buzzed with such absolute, pure power as if the entire air of the planet was centred in this tremendous jutsu.

Naruto sprang forth, flanked by two of his clones, and the weapon hit its target. Sasuke recoiled, lost his balance and fell on one knee. Naruto jumped aside, his clones vanishing as if by command. He hit the firm side of the toad with his back and slid heavily on the ground. Gamabunta snorted.

A few minutes passed in silence. Sasuke clutched his wounded hand to his chest and simply sat on the ground, staring at Pein's motionless body.

"He dead?" Naruto asked.

"Wanna go check his pulse?" Sasuke replied breathlessly.

Naruto laughed with relief. Closing his eyes for a moment, Sasuke reveled in that sound.

Naruto rose, trembling slightly. Sasuke watched him cautiously – and suddenly Naruto jumped up, shaking his fists in the air, and screamed:

"Woo-hoo! We did it! We beat the Akatsuki!! YES!!"

Sasuke didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Number one hyperactive ninja was back.

"The founder of the Akatsuki was Madara," Sasuke remarked flatly. "And he is still alive." _Not to mention, all this was for nothing if the others didn't take out the other bodies._

"Oi, jumper!" Gamabunta interjected. "How about you do the ritual moronic dance somewhere else?"

Naruto laughed louder at that, bounced up onto the toad's head and waited for Sasuke to join. Gamabunta pushed up with his forceful legs and dove into the clouds. Now it was like riding a flying ship. Wind threw fresh splashes of raindrops in their faces. Naruto's grin never faded.

The leap ended in a splendid landing that inflicted even more damage to the already crushed street. Naruto lost his balance and toppled over on the ground. Gamabunta laughed hoarsely.

"I'm okay," Naruto whimpered, picking himself up. "I think…"

Sasuke dismounted and bowed guardedly to the toad. Those who mastered Kuchiyose no Jutsu always felt somewhat bound in the presence of the others' summonses. The current situation was even worse: Gamabunta, the lifetime ally of Jiraiya, had to be rather hostile towards Orochimaru's pupil. In fact, Sasuke was surprised the toad had agreed to carry him at all.

"Thanks a bunch, boss!" Naruto chattered.

The toad blew out a thick whiff of smoke through his pipe.

"Come of age swiftly, frogling," he said before departing. "You owe me a hell of a lot of sake."

Sasuke knitted his eyebrows inquiringly. Naruto shrugged casually.

"His secret dream is to make me alcoholic. And probably an old perv like Ero-sennin."

Sasuke stared at him, the long-bottled up feelings flooding him slowly like water rising in a well. His clothes were frayed; several holes adorned the worn t-shirt; the one on the stomach area was the biggest. It revealed a golden piece of skin marred with reddish burns. It was the spot Madara had hit to deactivate the seal.

The forehead protector was lined with scratch marks; the band looked worn and shabby. But the mop of dandelion hair still shone bright yellow, and the eyes blazed with fiery passion, and the teeth were bared in an insolent grin.

Sasuke strolled up to him and asked quietly:

"How? How are you alive? I saw you dead."

"Uhm… yeah, I guess, I died," Naruto shrugged.

"I know you did, moron! How are you alive?"

"I don't know! Does it matter? I died and then… I _undied_."

"You can't _undie_," Sasuke deadpanned. "There isn't even such a word."

He was losing himself in the sudden surge of happiness. It overwhelmed him, that knowledge that the miracle _had happened_. He was so used to losing people. He lost his parents, he lost his brother, he lost his friend… But he never got anything back. And now Naruto did come back! He stood opposite him, blunt astonishment written all over his face.

Sasuke moved his hand slowly as if in a dream. He reached out numbly and touched Naruto's shoulder timidly, tentatively, as if afraid the mirage would disappear. He grazed the fabric of Naruto's sweatshirt with the pads of his fingers in detachment, and he could see only his hand, strikingly white against the bleared patch of black and orange.

"Hi," he said quietly. "I didn't… didn't say hi to you."

Naruto's clear blue eyes widened, and he murmured, "Hi."

The time stopped. It reminded them both of the final blow at the Valley of the End. The silence that followed was consuming and absolute. Sasuke's grip on Naruto's shoulder tightened. He couldn't take his eyes off it as he pulled Naruto closer and closer and finally pressed their bodies together and looked Naruto in the eye.

There was _life_.

Sasuke embraced him, pressed his forehead against his shoulder and stilled. Sounds burst into his world. He was cold, shreds of cloak hanging about his bare torso. He could hear Naruto breathe, and refused to let go. He clenched his fist harder, turned his head and felt his nose brush the warm, damp skin of Naruto's neck.

He didn't know how long it lasted. A steady rhythm of Naruto's heartbeat hypnotized him.

"What now?" Naruto asked in a barely audible whisper.

"You're here," Sasuke murmured as though it explained everything. It definitely mattered most at the moment.

"I'm here."

Sasuke pulled away. The sky cleared up. It wasn't the pure blue he was accustomed to (the colour of Naruto's eyes), but it wasn't steel-grey either. The rain stopped. Sasuke wondered if it had anything to do with Pein's death.

"Hmm, where's everyone?" Naruto blurted out, looking around wildly. "They wouldn't just leave, would they? I hope they're okay!"

Sasuke squinted up at his hand. He could barely feel it save for an unpleasant tingling sensation in his fingers. It quivered slightly. He had to admit he needed a medic-nin to examine him, no matter how little he liked the prospect of seeing the Leaf teams again.

"Come on," he said. "We'll have to find the Leaf."

Naruto gaped at him. "You're coming with me!? You're coming with me!!"

"This is not what you think it is; now let's go."

Naruto's face brightened into a huge, frank smile. 'He really doesn't need anything but me,' Sasuke thought in puzzled detachment. A gentle weary smile crossed his lips.

Naruto gripped his shoulder affectionately. "Before we go, there's something I want to do."

Sasuke gave him a waiting look. Naruto threw up his fist in a blink of an eye and punched Sasuke hard in the face and spat: "This is for using me as a bait!" Sasuke reacted quickly the second time and intercepted his fist before it could connect with his jaw once again. Naruto smirked. "That was supposed to be for killing me. Instead, you get _this_!"

He shoved his knee into Uchiha's stomach. Sasuke sank on the ground. It didn't hurt any less even though he understood he had deserved it.

"I thought you didn't remember," he said through gritted teeth.

Naruto grinned. "Call it a hunch. You looked remorseful. Ne, ready to go!"

'Idiot,' Sasuke thought as he hobbled towards Naruto who was brimming with energy. He didn't feel angry in the least. He felt… happy.

* * *

As they walked on, Naruto's energy began to wane. He dragged his feet as slowly as Sasuke did, and his stomach kept making low rumbling noises. Sasuke shivered in the wind. His eyes teary, his head buzzing, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for hours. He didn't even care if he would have nightmares.

"How come the entire village is empty?" Naruto was complaining. "And not even one ramen shop around or something!"

Sasuke chuckled quietly. He wished he could concentrate on something so trivial as well, but he was neither hungry nor (to be completely honest) worried about the well-being of the others. He simply wanted the terrible weakness to pass.

By nightfall they made camp in the swampy field on the outskirt of the village. Neither Sasuke, nor Naruto felt like scouting the unexplored area in the dark. Short brittle grass beneath them was moist, and it brought back the memory of the night after the rain they had spent together.

Naruto hugged his knees and sat silently, looking nowhere. He was uncharacteristically quiet. The stress of the last few days seemed to have finally caught up with him.

Sasuke lowered himself beside him. He didn't feel like talking, but he didn't mind listening. He had a feeling Naruto would say something, and indeed he did.

"My father was the Fourth Hokage."

His voice came out strained. There was something unfamiliar about it, something Sasuke failed to identify.

"I know. I'm so–."

"How cool is that!" Naruto blurted out agitatedly. "I mean I always knew we had something in common! Blond hair and stubbornness, Ero-sennin said. How about the DNA?"

Sasuke looked at him, marveling at how he could still be so happy after such a horrible revelation. There was nothing good, nothing wonderful about being the Yondaime's son.

"And my mother!" Naruto went on. "I wonder who she was. What if she's still alive? Then maybe I could find her and ask her about Dad and about everything!"

'He's not angry,' Sasuke realized with a start. 'He doesn't hate them for what they did. Like he doesn't hate the village. He doesn't blame them for anything.'

"Wonder how many people knew. The geezer certainly did, the Third, that is. And Kakashi-sensei too! Wasn't he the Fourth's pupil? Whoa, I can ask Kakashi-sensei to tell me everything! Isn't that cool?"

Sasuke rose. "I'm sorry, but I see nothing 'cool' about a man sealing a monster into his own son. I guess we're both unlucky with our families."

Naruto's eyes darkened.

"Watch your mouth!" he said menacingly. "He was a hero."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't believe in heroes."

He didn't wait for Naruto to say anything. He lay on the ground a few paces aside, wrapped his threadbare cloak around him and closed his eyes. Naruto still had something to be happy about. It pained Sasuke to see how different they were even though life traumatized them in a pretty similar way.

He welcomed his nightmares because they proved he still had something human in him.

* * *

Sasuke breathed, and breathed again, mechanically, because his lungs demanded it. He glanced down at the still form lying at his feet. Was it over? He fell on his knees and felt Itachi's pulse. The bastard was alive.

Sasuke dragged the Kusanagi up to him and lifted it above Itachi's chest. One blow to pierce the heart. Blood would flow and put a stop to this never-ending agony. Covered in blood and dust, Sasuke hesitated.

He cast the blade aside and sat by his unconscious brother, waiting. He didn't need to kill a sleeping person. No, he wanted to see his eyes.

Itachi came to his senses in about fifteen minutes. Sasuke ended up on top of him in an instant, pinning him to the ground and preventing him from moving.

"Feeling better?" he asked venomously. "That's not for long."

Itachi coughed. Through the coughing Sasuke heard him whisper. He leaned closer.

"Keep him close," Itachi said. Sasuke's eyes widened. "He says he's been a better brother to you than I..."

"Naruto?" Sasuke mouthed.

"You control the Fox… you control everything… Madara… is not…"

Sasuke gripped Itachi by the shoulder. Impossible! _Now_ the bastard finally decided to die.

"Tell me," the youth demanded. "Itachi! Don't you dare… Not after everything you've–. Itachi!"

The pulse was gone. Sasuke leaned in so close that his bangs brushed Itachi's face. Glazed black eyes stared blankly at the sky. The ambition of a lifetime… lost without a trace. Sasuke cursed under his breath.

"Itachi!" His voice broke like that of a seven-year-old that had once run from his brother, begging to spare his life. "Please… You have to tell me." He dreamed about this so often afterwards. Tears of rage and one word he never thought he'd use again. "_Nii-san_… It's not a promise you can put off for tomorrow!"

* * *

Sasuke saw that dream countless times. The exact replay of Itachi's last minutes, if only a tad more surreal and dreamlike. Each time he cried and begged Itachi to tell him the truth. Each time Itachi died and left him alone.

He rolled to his side and lay still, watching Naruto sleep. Itachi's voice whispered in the back of his mind. 'Keep him close…' What, just what had the bastard meant?

Sasuke's stomach lurched. Naruto wasn't his possession; if he were, Sasuke would have branded him with an Uchiha fan and stuck him somewhere for safekeeping.

Yet this insatiable, ferocious feeling, the one that formed just before Naruto died, persisted. Naruto was _his_ since the moment Sasuke had singled him out as his one and only friend. It never occurred to him to wonder: why Naruto? Why the dead last, the orange nightmare, the person whom Sasuke hated almost as much as his brother?

Sasuke crept closer and sat over Naruto, allowing his unfocused gaze to travel over the youth's peaceful form. He could stare at him for hours. Naruto was… Naruto was damn near _everything,_ now that nothing remained in his life.

Sasuke closed his eyes and touched Naruto's back gently. Moved his fingers down along the spinal column, returned and felt the shoulderblades through the fabric of his sweatshirt. Compressed his shoulder, leaned in and opened his eyes to see a wisp of yellow hair in front of him. Traced the edge of his ear with the tip of his tongue and breathed in uncertainly.

He didn't know what he was doing or why he was doing it.

He placed a small kiss upon Naruto's neck. His hair brushed Naruto's skin. A soft gasp informed Sasuke that the youth was awake.

He gripped his shoulder again and turned him on his back to see his eyes. Somehow it felt important.

"This is not happening," he whispered so quietly he wasn't even sure he had said it aloud.

Naruto lifted his head and brushed Sasuke's lips with his own. Barely touched him and exhaled resolutely, "But it is."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Naruto's dry lips slid to the corner of his mouth, gently, uncertainly caressing his jawline. He propped up on his elbows and brushed his fingers against Sasuke's shoulder.

The slow progression of it was beginning to get on Sasuke's nerves. He pushed Naruto back on the ground, tore his sweatshirt open and clenched the frayed fabric of his t-shirt in his fist. With a muffled crackling noise it split. Sasuke trailed his mouth down Naruto's chest, the taste of warm salty skin mixed with loose threads beneath his lips. He rose back up to the collarbone, leaving a wet trail across it. Naruto's breath hitched. He tangled his fingers in Sasuke's hair; with all the knots and dried blood it felt rough, almost wire-like, and it felt strange against his palms. He made Sasuke look up and kissed him with dizzying passion.

When the kiss was broken off, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, barely conscious of what was going on. Lips, tongue, teeth on his skin, rough nipping at his shoulder, nails scraping his abdomen. Silence spread over them in thick layers, strewn with half-heartedly suppressed sighs and groans.

Sasuke swept his tongue over Naruto's stomach, that hot, limber spot where the seal had burnt and left a reddish mark. Naruto attempted to sit up; a fierce push, almost a swipe, had him lying on the ground again in an instant. Annoyed at being treated like a bothersome insect, Naruto caught him by the wrists, pressing their bodies together as Sasuke lost balance and ended up on top of him. Uchiha spared him one arrogant look – and kissed him fiercely, demandingly, and Naruto let go of him, giving in to the hurricane of sensations rising in his body.

A sharp, silent inhalation followed. For a moment Naruto couldn't really tell who it belonged to. He clenched his teeth and shuddered at the feeling of Sasuke all over him, and his clothes being ripped away, and he wanted it even though he was not quite ready for it. For the pressure of hands against his shoulders, for the casual, teasing, almost unbearable licking – _'I'm gonna kill him…'_ – and the flitting of fingers along his inner thigh; and then…

…in and out – _'More…'_ – and in…

Pearly-grey puffs of fog swelled over the valley. Suddenly they were drowning in it. The steady rhythm that they occasionally fell out of, which resulted in sharp, almost angry outcries, wasn't anything like their usual movements – but perhaps it was a form of communication too. Like sparring. Their bodies would dart towards each other like kunai picking up the speed in their flight; but whereas during the training they would diverge, here they connected, melted into each other, every move a competition, every touch a sting that would provoke more throaty groans and needy kisses and bites.

And there it went: studying each other like maps of unknown regions, wordlessly begging for more, memorizing the taste, the texture, the relief of muscles. Blood welled up on the kiss-bitten lips. And when that indescribable whirlwind of sensation hit the climax, their voices came out hoarse, unrecognizable, and the heat that was rising inside them finally had its way out.

The blanket of mist muffled them up carefully as they lay on the cold ground, still pressed tightly against each other, Naruto's face buried in Sasuke's unruly hair.

…When he woke up in the morning, Sasuke was gone.


	11. Hero's Comeback

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ A moment of peace never lasts long. Sasuke is back with his former teammates, but he feels he's a stranger in a strange land. He has to make a choice, and that choice might ruin everything. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _La Figlia Che Piange (The Weeping Girl) _by T.S. Eliot.

**A/N**: I guess I tricked you in the previous chapter. XDD And I probably scared you a little. Thank you so much for your amazing reviews! You guys are the source of my inspiration!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_**Hero's Comeb**__**ack**_

_So I would have had him leave,_

_So I would have had her stand and grieve,_

_So he would have left_

_As the soul leaves the body torn and bruised,_

_As the mind deserts the body it has used._

Naruto saw that dream again. A man riding a huge toad and the dreaded Monster Fox snarling hungrily at him.

That man… His _father_. The newfound revelation struck back at him; it was powerful, almost painful even through the haze of a dream. Somehow, knowing the Big Secret, Naruto felt even lonelier than before.

He opened his eyes, wondering why the dream would come back now. Sensations of the previous night reverberated through him, and his heart made a violent leap up to his throat. Wind brushed against his skin, still burning with dried sweat and _god knows what_ from yesterday ('Wasn't a dream,' Naruto thought with irritable confusion. 'Hell!'). The feeling of loneliness seeped treacherously from the dream into reality.

Naruto rose, straightened his bunched up clothes and scanned the area.

"Fuck."

He zipped his sweatshirt up and walked slowly across the valley towards the scattering of random hillocks, covered in pale turquoise grass. 'I'm gonna kill that bastard…' It beat hard like a drumroll in his mind.

Suddenly he stopped – short of bumping into Sasuke's back. Uchiha stood on top of the smallest hillock, quiet and unmoving, a perfect statue. Naruto frowned. He couldn't see anything of Sasuke's face from here but the line of his cheek-bone obscured by messy black hair. He gripped him by the elbow and whispered almost furiously:

"Asshole."

"You thought I'd left," Sasuke said flatly. And then chuckled. "You really don't trust me, do you?"

"I, er… Hell, no!" Naruto snorted. "Why would I trust you, bastard?"

His gaze drifted down towards Sasuke's hand hanging lax along his body. The shreds of bandage were gone, leaving the deformed skin exposed. Naruto wondered if it hurt…

…yesterday.

"Did I do that?" he inquired in a deadpan voice. "To your hand."

Sasuke sighed.

"Call it self-defense," he said dismissively. "Besides, blockhead, with all due respect," (Naruto grinned derisively at that), "your teeth could not cause that much damage."

He strolled back to their sleeping place to make sure they were all set for the final run for the Leaf camp. Naruto followed him, snapping his teeth tauntingly, imitating a bite. ("My teeth not good enough for you, eh?") Sasuke resisted the impulse to roll his eyes… or maybe stick a kunai in the blond's guts.

Naruto jogged after the moody Uchiha, disgustingly cheerful, and Sasuke wondered briefly if he took some kind of doping to keep up that buoyant mood. But then… Naruto was Naruto. To ask him to shut up and act normally (seriously, how could a person act so damn cheerful when hardly anything good had happened!?) was like asking the sun to descend from the sky and stop shining.

Sasuke lowered his eyes and noticed a greenish spark at the bottom of his half-open pouch.

"I think I have something else to give you back," he murmured. Naruto cocked his head. Sasuke took the necklace out and tossed it to him. Strangely, Naruto answered wordlessly by flashing him a calm look (there was gratitude lurking beneath his oddly passive façade, Sasuke was pretty sure of it) and putting the necklace on.

They kept walking, their speed gradually slowing down as both of them felt there was no point in running. The smell of food being cooked on the fire welcomed them. Sasuke entered the small clearing in the sparse woods and kept walking. As he drew closer to _them_ he felt nothing but dull ache spiraling through his hand.

He heard Akamaru bark; Kiba's hand lay upon his nape, ruffling the fur absent-mindedly. Shikamaru knitted his eyebrows, Chouji stopped chewing, Hinata didn't dare raise her head and just kept rubbing her fingers and blushing fiercely. For a moment a cold chasm opened up in the pit of Sasuke's stomach.

What if it was all a delusion?

He didn't dare look around to see if Naruto was still behind him and kept going on.

Sakura rose from the ground and walked toward him, her pace quickening with every new heartbeat. She passed him by as if he were a shadow. Naruto grunted as she flung herself into his arms and laughed joyfully. Sasuke passed them all as they rose one by one and went to meet Naruto. He paused briefly to see Kakashi nod curtly and wandered off to drop heavily on the ground behind a thick tree trunk where no one would bother him. He put his hand over his stomach, eyes shut, and stilled.

Through the darkness, through the quiet there came voices. Laughter, jokes, a fancy recount of the battle against Pein, some pesky details of what the Leaf shinobi had done to prevent the other bodies from waking up… Sasuke didn't listen to the words, only to the noise itself. It lulled him to some sleeplike apathy.

They all had missed Naruto. Those who had scorned him, called him loser, despised him, hated him… Perhaps he was indeed a few steps closer to fulfilling his dreams.

* * *

A few hours later the sun was already a huge yellow boulder rolling through the azure sky. Naruto watched it glow, his heart finally at peace, if only for one select minute. His face brightened into a soft smile, distorting the smooth whisker-lines.

He heard the girls talking. Sakura-chan was complaining to Ino that 'Sasuke-kun won't eat'.

"It's been over a day since we last saw him. They had no food, they've been through such a horrible fight. Sasuke-kun still hasn't recovered from the previous one." She released an exasperated sigh that marked defeat. "I have no idea what to do about it."

Naruto grinned to himself. That sounded like his type of a task. He picked up a small field lunchbox filled with rice and walked over to Sasuke. Half-lying behind a thick tree aside from the campfire, the youth looked deathly pale, his face covered with a thin film of sweat that glistened dimly whenever glares of sunlight glided over it. Naruto lowered himself on the ground beside him, grabbed a ball of rice and pushed it gently into his mouth.

Soot-black eyes snapped open. Sasuke coughed and sputtered and spat the rice out, his face contorted with what seemed to be disgust.

"What the fuck was that?"

Naruto flashed him a childlike grin.

"Food. Sakura-chan says you won't eat."

"Not hungry."

"I say you are. O-o-open your mouth!"

He guided another rice ball towards him. Sasuke tried to protest and found himself unable to utter a word; his mouth was suddenly full. To complete the torment, Naruto clamped his hand over Uchiha's lips and whispered in a low conspiratorial voice:

"Won't let go until you swallow."

Sasuke stared at him intently, wishing looks could indeed kill. Slowly, demonstratively his jaws began to move, lips brushing against Naruto's palm. The blond's apprehensive eyes never left him face. Sasuke swallowed and glared at him. When the moron didn't move, Sasuke parted his lips and flicked his tongue over the youth's palm. Naruto shuddered and pulled away.

"That… hmm, that wasn't enough to keep your strength up!" he announced stubbornly.

"Give me that blasted thing!" Sasuke demanded, snatching the lunchbox out of Naruto's grip. "I'm perfectly capable… Shit!"

Naruto managed to catch the box before the food poured out on the ground. Sasuke's hands were trembling. The wounded one went numb; the fingers couldn't hold anything steadily. Naruto refrained from any comments wisely.

He held out another portion of rice. It earned him a glare from Sasuke. Slowly his lips parted again. Naruto reached out to feed him and yelped in offense when Sasuke's lips fastened angrily around his fingers.

"Ouch! You _bit_ me!"

"That's what you get for shoving your hands in my mouth."

"I'm taking care of you, bastard!" Naruto scowled. "If you don't eat, you'll die!"

Sasuke smirked. 'How dramatic!' He continued eating, trying his best to ignore a huge triumphant grin that took over Naruto's face. Naruto nudged him with his elbow and burst out laughing when he received a kick at his leg in response.

Things were never easy when it came to Sasuke.

* * *

"How is he?" Kakashi asked half an hour later.

He located Naruto on the far end of the clearing where he had been exiled by Sasuke who had declared he'd needed rest. Kakashi looked at the boy appraisingly. He looked tired but happy. 'Then it wasn't for nothing,' Kakashi decided with a small smile.

"Looks fine to me," Naruto shrugged.

Kakashi frowned. "You never explained what happened."

"To be honest, I don't know. I don't remember much. At some point I just felt so weird. It was like… someone breathed a new life into me. Like I was speeding into the darkness, but then my path was reversed. I could feel the chakra run through its channels, and it was powerful and scorching… like the Fox and I, we were one. Scared the shit out of me, frankly speaking. I woke up in that weird Rain Village with no memory of how I got there or anything. The Nine-Tails told me I…" Naruto chewed on his lip hesitantly. "Well… died. Dunno if it was anyone of the Akatsuki that fetched me there. But that doesn't matter much now, right?"

Kakashi chuckled. The boy spoke of his little 'dying' experience as if it had been just another training lesson. Perhaps for him it was. It was good to have him – both of them – back, and Kakashi told him so. He was about to leave for he still had important matters to discuss with Yamato as well as the rest of the group, but Naruto stopped him. He sounded almost perplexed.

"Erm… Kakashi-sensei, I was gonna…"

He trailed off, perhaps looking for the best way to word what was on his mind. Kakashi sighed.

"You wanted to ask me about the Fourth." Naruto's bewildered gaze darted upwards. Kakashi nodded gently. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything! What was he like?" Naruto knitted his eyebrows for a moment and then suddenly cried out: "His name! I don't even–. What was his name?"

"Minato," Kakashi answered without delay, rolling the name he hadn't pronounced in a long while like a candy on his tongue. It tasted like the ashes of old memories. "Namikaze Minato."

Hours after the conversation (Naruto never wanted it to end) the blond was still devouring Kakashi with a thrilled, grasping look. The Jounin sighed almost self-consciously and took a small book out of his bosom. It differed from any of his habitual books; Naruto knitted his eyebrows suspiciously.

"Before we set out on this mission," Kakashi said quietly, "I had a feeling it would come to this. Big secrets never stay hidden long enough, you know. This story," he waved the book in a fair cover, framed with a dark edging, in front of Naruto, "belongs to you. It may be one of the last copies. It didn't sell at all unlike Jiraiya's other books. But your father loved it. And I'm sure Jiraiya would want you to read it."

He slipped the book into Naruto's open palms. It felt light and crispy and strangely new despite its obvious age.

Kakashi winked at him.

"Did you ever wonder where your name came from?"

When the sensei left him to his business, Naruto sat down and opened the book with light trepidation. His lips moved noiselessly as his finger brushed the vertical line of kanji forming the title. _'The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya'_. Not knowing how exactly it happened, he found himself crying before he reached the bottom of the first page. He clutched the book to his chest and let the silent weeping shake him, glad that no one was there to see him.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes a while after he really woke up, taking in the canvas of moist verdure above him and shards of copper sunset sky, gleaming through. They were still quite near Amegakure; everything smelt of some invisible, irrevocably late rain.

He lay beneath the tree, a thick prominent root for his pillow, his hand resting over his belly. Apart from soft prickling ache under his skin he felt nothing. The pain slept like a sated snake; he knew it could uncoil any moment.

Sasuke shifted, and the cloak slithered down his shoulders. It was not his old holey cloak, but a new light and warm Leaf one. Someone put it over him like a blanket. On top of another big root there lay a neatly folded dark Chuunin shirt, a vest and a pair of trousers. How very farsighted of them! Sasuke smirked as he put the clothes on: these hand-me-downs did not make him a Leaf shinobi just as the purple rope belt of the Sound did not make him a proper fighter of Otogakure.

Meanwhile, the Leaf ninja had gathered to discuss the present problems, such as where to go now that Pein was obviously dead (according to Yamato who had recently returned from Amegakure to inform that the village was still empty and no other Akatsuki members showed up) and what to do next. Sasuke strained his hearing and tried to process the information.

"I believe it may be wise for most of you to go home," Kakashi was saying. "Our enemy, formerly known under the name Uchiha Madara, is a formidable opponent. It is a foolish thing to underestimate him. However, the squad that I would choose to go up against him must consist only of the shinobi who can perform high level battle jutsu or wield a powerful eye technique, for Madara is the last known owner of the Mangekyou Sharingan. That makes two."

Sasuke cocked his head. _Interesting_… Kakashi obviously chose not to include him on the list.

He rose and walked leisurely towards the clearing, trying hard (and failing miserably) to delay the moment of coming face to face with the others. The murmur grew louder. He emerged from the shadows and uttered in a cold, low-pitched voice:

"He's mine," and kept walking as if mechanically.

He came to a halt on the edge of the clearing. The others sat still, their gazes boring into his back intently.

"Uchiha Madara," Sasuke drew out slowly, "was one of the founding fathers of the Hidden Leaf Village. And he was also behind the Kyuubi's attack sixteen years ago. Each and every one of you may have your reasons to want him dead. I… respect that."

He paused. They held their breath and waited for him to continue. Sasuke's heart made a violent leap. He hated giving public speeches. But he couldn't just tell them off, not after what they had done. In a way, he did feel some twisted gratitude towards these strangers he used to know before.

When he resumed speaking, his voice seemed to have acquired a new powerful ring to it.

"Uchiha Madara is also my ancestor and the murderer of my clan."

A breathless female voice whispered compassionately: "Sasuke-kun…", but he couldn't tell who it belonged to: Sakura or Ino. He balled his fists and forced himself to face the group.

"This time I'm not running. I am a criminal by law and I'm ready to face the consequences _after_ I kill Madara. I'm asking you to let me complete this mission alone. It is solely _my_ task."

Naruto took a shaky breath. Sasuke didn't notice him before and now glanced at him with vague anxiety.

He concentrated desperately on the bristly whisker-marks, stark black against the translucent paleness that shone through the soft tan. That way he didn't have to look Naruto in the eye.

"However…" The word came out weak like a whimper. Sasuke cleared his throat and said: "I could use some extra power."

A heartbeat later the coarse blackness trembled as the youth suddenly grinned. Sasuke lifted his bandaged hand and added calculatively: "And a doctor, too."

He cast a sliding glance at Sakura. Just in case, just to let her know. Her forehead, creased with anger and hurt, suddenly smoothed, and a ghost of a smile flashed upon her lips. Sasuke clenched his teeth and said finally:

"And an extra Sharingan, I think."

He didn't need to look at Kakashi to know that the Copy Ninja had expected it. Of course.

Sasuke strode back to his tree, ignoring the looks of mild surprise the Leaf ninja flashed him. Chill spread through his body, falling into the pit of his stomach. He clenched his fists. He didn't want to feel satisfied. He wanted to believe that he needed medical help, just pure skill, not Sakura's delicate fingers stroking his burnt flesh, not her soothing voice whispering in his ear that everything would be fine. He wanted to persuade himself he needed the eye, not Kakashi's firm reassurance and support. And most of all, most fiercely, most stubbornly he willed himself to believe he needed the Kyuubi, not Naruto's ineradicable cheerfulnes, not his loud mouth, not his obsessive desire to get stronger than Sasuke… not his innocent, sloppy kisses, his goddamn summer blue eyes… not _him_, all of him…

"I'm losing my mind," Sasuke grunted irritably. "Fuck it, I've already lost it…"

'That was cute,' he heard Itachi say. He couldn't see him yet, but it was only a matter of time before the projection would show itself. 'Sacrificing all your family pride to achieve your goals.'

"Get lost!" Sasuke snarled. "You're not even here!"

Smooth fabric crunched in the distance.

'As you say, little brother. But I'm not buying all that sweet talk about repentance.'

Sasuke fell on his knees and squeezed his eyes shut so feverishly that starbursts exploded before his sight. He wanted that cruel ghost gone. He wanted his inner voice to sound like his own again because all these 'conversations' led to the strengthening of the painful and unwanted belief: somewhere, if not right here Itachi was alive.

Somebody's hand patted his shoulder lightly. Uchiha shivered.

"Sasuke-kun? Everything all right? Is that your hand? Let me have a look."

Sasuke sat upright and held his hand out. Sakura lowered herself on the ground next to him and felt the skin through the bandage, testing the chakra flow. She lifted the cloth carefully. Beneath the burns the skin was pallid and bloodless. Sasuke wondered if it could ever be restored in full.

"I was wrong about you," Sakura said. "What I said… Please, forgive me."

"I deserve it. I know I do."

It sounded pathetic. Sasuke had to force himself to look in her eyes, wide with something close to shock. They were as vibrant green as Naruto's were blue. She and Naruto, the brightest colours in his life – and Sasuke wanted to close his eyes as if afraid this intense brightness would scorch them out.

"No, you don't," Sakura pressed. "You didn't leave him. Even though you thought he was no more. And you brought him here. If it weren't for you, he might have–."

"…stayed at home," Sasuke said gravely.

"No, he wouldn't. It's his dream, the meaning of his life."

Sasuke lowered his head. She let go of his hand and sat quietly, waiting for him to say something. Sasuke felt awkward. She had changed a lot; he didn't know her, didn't want to know her, but at the same time he needed her to be here with him.

"It's not his, Sakura," he said softly. "He's trying to split my meaning of life in two."

"Well… Naruto has always been a bit dense."

Sasuke rose abruptly and clenched his fists. The wounded hand exploded with sharp pain, but he paid it no heed.

"Why are you so good to me? You don't know what I did."

"I know that you're here. If only for a few days or hours. We are together." The soft rustling of grass told him she was up on her feet as well. Sasuke turned to regard her. "You must have forgotten… I told you once that it was the only way I was ever happy."

"I remember."

Sakura smiled. "I'm sorry. I never understood you. To be honest, I still don't. But I'd rather have you far away but alive."

"I don't know why," Sasuke said. "But if it makes you feel better, none of this is your fault."

She sobbed and turned away from him. "I feel like I'm going to cry. I'm still annoying, you know…"

He couldn't take his eyes off of her shoulder. Moonlight slithered down her luminescent skin, smearing a thin shiny film of silver over it. Sasuke reached out slowly and touched her arm. Sakura tensed. He brushed her skin lightly and withdrew his hand.

"Sa-akura-chan has a date with me!" Naruto's voice came. Shortly after, the loudest ninja himself popped seemingly out of nowhere.

Sakura blinked her eyes, trying to shake off the tears. "You blew it, you idiot!"

"Hey! Those were unforeseen circumstances! Come oooon, it's not fair, it's his fault!" Naruto glowered at Sasuke with theatrical jealousy. "Oh, and now he's made you cry!"

Sakura laughed, rubbing her eyes. Naruto grinned.

"Sorry, a fit of chivalry."

Sasuke snorted, uncertain of whether he wanted Naruto to shut up or go on blurting out extremely stupid and hilarious things… like that night – a thousand years ago, it seemed – when he made his crazy jokes about kids. 'Team Seven, eh?' he thought, amazed at the sudden pang of nostalgia. As if echoing his thoughts, Naruto remarked:

"If it goes like this, we'll soon turn into Team Save The World."

Sakura giggled. Naruto stretched on the ground, hands beneath his head, and stared teasingly at his teammates.

"No, thank you," came Sasuke's vaguely humorous reply. The youth sat down and placed his hand on his lap carefully. "I'm not that fond of the world."

'And the world's not that fond of me,' he thought moodily. 'Right, nii-san?'

But Itachi was not around to answer, and Sasuke just tilted his head a little and looked at his two companions. They lay on their backs, soft smiles upon their lips, and watched the stars conduct their round dance across the sky. He leaned back until his head touched the pillow of grass and let sleep claim him.


	12. The Lost Month

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Sasuke remembers the month that changed everything and led him back to Naruto; Team Kakashi sets out to save the world; Madara begins his act. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Have You Got It In You?_ by Imogen Heap.

**A/N**: No matter how much I love Kishi's latest developments, the plot of this story basically disregards Madara's background. He's pretty much still a really bad guy here, and this is where I begin an active use of Tobito theory. Hope you like it, guys! Thank you once again for your wonderful reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_**The Lost Month**_

_All at once, not a whisper, nor word.  
Then all at once…  
Let me have it all, let me have a battle on,  
Easy target,  
Look__, can we just… just get it over with._

_Madara sweeps his gloved hand over the youngish scarred face__. The roughness of the scars stings even through the tight-fitting material._

"_Say, Zetsu, what do you think makes us weaker?"_

_The white half dismisses the question promptly. _

"_How would I know?"_

_The black half is not so hasty. "Weakness is a rather abstract concept. It depends on what you mean by it."_

"_Bonds," Madara says. Zetsu wonders if the man has even heard him. "Bonds," he repeats confidently, "make us weaker. You might think you are getting strong by protecting someone you love. Love is the most powerful force that drives you, and you're willing to do anything for that person. You'd go as far as to the edge of the earth. But in the end, even the closest and the most loyal friend betrays you."_

_Zetsu cocks his head, the fly-trap leaves rustling quietly. The black half snorts. Madara's remaining eye flares with angry red glint._

"_That is why you should cut the bonds as soon as they are no longer needed." _

'_Like I did.' He knows that his brother__ would have had his eyes, had his own begun to fade earlier. He knows this because his brother and him were exactly the same. And he knows that Hashirama ('Shodai,' he cuts himself off furiously, for that name no longer holds any meaning to him, but it still echoes with the same brutal pain as years before) was about to do the same thing. _

"_Don't wait to be betrayed. Don't be the victim to someone else's treachery. Be the betrayer. Hi__t hard and fast, as painfully as you can. Only this way you will keep your sanity."_

_That is questionable, Zetsu decides._

"_Does this conversation have a point?" he wonders brusquely._

_Madara brushes his fingers through his hair and remembers how it used to be long, full of knots from the wind, how the bangs would obscure his visions, and how the First with his sleek straight hair would laugh when Madara brushed them off irritably._

"_Do you remember what I asked you years ago when my spirit was first reawakened in this ruined body? 'Why do I keep dreaming of Hatake Kakashi?' Do you remember what your answer was?"_

"_His was the last face Uchiha Obito saw before he died," Zetsu repeats word for word. "It'll pass."_

_A dismal smile crosses Madara's lips. Zetsu is not so easily intimidated (besides, the man does owe him a little something), yet a lump comes up to his mouth._

"_Then tell me, Zetsu," Madara demands in a voice muffled with rage, "why do I still dream of Hatake Kakashi?"_

* * *

Peeking sheepishly from behind the dense clouds, pallid morning sun spilt a few rays over the sleeping campsite. A nimble golden speck slid teasingly over Sakura's face. Her eyes fluttered open. She dreamt she was at home in her own bed, and the dream kept her warm. As soon as it was gone, she started growing cold. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her body and yawned. It took her a few minutes to recall where she was.

When she did, she rolled to her side rapidly and released a slow breath of relief. Both of them were here, safe and sound and so dear to her. She smiled. She thought that maybe Sasuke-kun was too unjust to himself; he was a good person regardless of what he might have done. For a second she found it hard to breathe: the feeling of strange, bittersweet affection filled her to the brim.

She pulled Naruto's cloak up to his chin: it was still cold. She leaned into him and brushed a lock of hair, rather long, tousled and very yellow, off his forehead. And then she crawled around to take a seat next to Sasuke. He looked younger and more innocent, sleeping soundly like this. Acting on some irresistible impulse, she bent down and kissed him gently on the forehead. Sasuke opened his eyes.

Their eyes connected, and for a moment Sakura thought he would kill her. His gaze was heavy, but blank. She whispered an anxious "Sorry," and when he didn't respond, she got up hastily, took a step back and tripped and fell on the ground.

The youth sat up, his eyes never leaving her glowing face.

"Careful."

He held out his hand to help her take a more comfortable position. Sakura chuckled at her clumsiness.

"Sakura, whose clothes are these?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"Captain Yamato brought spare sets of clothes for all of us. Why?"

Sasuke frowned. "I'd prefer something of my own. I don't want to be indebted to him."

She wouldn't understand, he thought. It was too much of a humiliation for him to wear these featureless things when he had even had Sound attire branded with Uchiha fans.

"Oh yes, one set of clothes leads to a lifetime debt!" Sakura snorted.

Sasuke's face darkened. "_Tsch_." He glanced briefly at Naruto and added: "You'll wake him up."

"Huh? Don't you know Naruto at all? The only thing that can wake him up now is the smell of ramen!"

"I… I'm not sure I do. I have fallen out of habit."

He wondered if he had ever had this habit. How did it happen that he knew so little about what Naruto truly was, yet valued him as his closest friend?

He lay back and set to watching Sakura as she sat by their side, soft wind playing in her hair. Some time later Naruto started tossing and turning. Sakura kicked him playfully with her foot. He awoke with a start, blinked his huge eyes full of surprise, and a lenient grin spread slowly over his face.

"Meh, I had such a weird dream! Like I was late for practice and Ero-sennin set a huge toad on me."

Sasuke kept quiet, looking somewhere past him. Sakura's laughter cut the thickening silence.

"I'll go get us something to eat," she said.

"Yeah, don't let Chouji have all the snacks!"

When she left, Sasuke suddenly longed for her return. He never noticed how much peace Sakura actually brought into their communication. Even when she had been that annoying wide-eyed girl hopelessly in love with him, she was needed. Because with Naruto…

…with Naruto there was no peace. There was the whirlwind of emotions, pulse beating in their throats, desire, ache, tears swelling somewhere in their chests and rising up to splash from their eyes… Sasuke hated it. When Naruto was alive, it made him suffer; but even Naruto's death couldn't cut all the bonds. No matter what he did, Naruto remained.

"You didn't run away," Naruto said suddenly. "I half-expected you to."

"No… I didn't."

Naruto smoothed down his clothes briskly. "I'm glad you didn't. Boy, this sounds stupid. But, Sasuke… Thanks."

Uchiha clenched his teeth and dismissed the conversation with a non-committal grunt.

About an hour later Team Kakashi in its reformed state stood before the others, undergoing the kind of a parting ceremony. Sasuke kept his distance, unwilling to get mixed into the process: they were Naruto's friends, not his, and he wanted nothing of them.

Now that it was settled that they would go together, he felt strange numbness. What if Itachi was right? What if what he did made him unworthy of bearing the name Uchiha? Sasuke glanced at the crowd wistfully. Sakura was hugging Ino. Kakashi conversed with Yamato in a low voice, giving him directions of some kind. Sai looked up at him all of a sudden and smiled. Sasuke turned away.

"You know what," Shikamaru's quiet voice rang in his ears all of a sudden. Sasuke's back went rigid. "After everything we've been through because of you, you just stay alive, okay?"

Sasuke lifted his head abruptly. Shikamaru was looking at him with sharp, attentive eyes. Then he walked back to his team, and Sasuke exhaled a soft, barely audible word after him:

"Yeah…"

When they finally were leaving, Naruto raised his fist in the air and shouted: "Let's go!" and outran the team immediately, energy, craving for action, boiling inside him. He looked back, his cerulean eyes sparkling joyously. The sun was already high upon the skyline, and its soft lemon glow poured over Naruto, turning him into a bouncy speck of gold.

Deep inside Sasuke felt envious.

What did they all want from him? He couldn't be as happy and carefree as Naruto was. He couldn't adjust in a blink of an eye. He noticed occasionally the looks that Sakura flashed him and the way Kakashi's eye would follow him, and, enraged, he quickened the pace until he was way ahead of all of them, even Naruto.

'It'd be curious to see you try,' the thought came; Sasuke knew exactly who it belonged to.

Behind him, Kakashi performed Kuchiyose no Jutsu, and the pack of his dogs sprang in different sides, preparing to pick up the trail. So it began.

In the evening when the team made camp on the edge of a beautiful flower meadow, Sasuke found himself engulfed in memories of the turning point in his life when he had willingly decided to reconcile with Naruto. That month had determined everything. Sasuke should have known Naruto wouldn't give up on him so easily.

A soft smirk, unnoticed even by him, touched his lips.

* * *

He dove out of the dizzying whirlpool of darkness like a fish thrown out of the water, and lay gasping for air for a few minutes. A hand pressed roughly on his shoulder, urging him to stay in bed. He couldn't remember how he got there. His vision adjusted slowly; all kinds of sensations washed over him all at once. Pain zigzagged through his emaciated body; his voice came out in a rasping whisper:

"Where is Itachi?"

"Hold still," someone admonished.

Straining his eyes, he recognized Suigetsu. The Mist nin stuck his sleek bluish hair behind his ears carelessly; a huge watercolour purple bruise adorned his right cheekbone, and his left arm was plastered. Sasuke never knew Suigetsu could require bandaging.

"Itachi's dead," said Karin, a hint of confusion in her voice. Sasuke frowned. "We found you in the ruined hideout. You were barely alive."

Her words slowly settled in his mind. Itachi was no more. A mere memory now that the battle of a lifetime was over. Sasuke should have felt happy, but he didn't.

"Get out," he whispered commandingly to his teammates. When none of them complied, he repeated harshly: "Get the fuck out!"

They left. Sasuke collapsed on the bed; heavy, silent, suffocating weeping shook his body.

Several days passed in the same fashion. He lay in bed, staring blankly at the walls of a small hotel room around him, and occasionally fell into deep sleep, even more tiring than being awake. He didn't feel sick, but neither did he feel healthy. His body seemed to have conserved all the pain he'd been through, and it slowly poisoned him.

Then he began seeing nightmares. He rarely remembered them in the morning, but the feelings lingered even when he was awake.

"It's been a week like this," Suigetsu said once. Alarmed by Sasuke's unusual condition, Team Hebi held the kind of a conference when they thought he was asleep. "He doesn't talk, he barely eats, he's acting like a madman! He's become vulnerable. He's useless like this."

"Are you questioning his sanity?" Karin asked suspiciously.

"Unlike some, I'm not blinded by mindless admiration! What if he never gets back to normal? We can't babysit him forever."

At that moment Sasuke pushed the thin sliding door open and entered the room. Hebi fell silent, looking at him expectantly. A pale shadow of his usual cool, sarcastic smirk touched his lips.

"Talking about me behind my back? That's nice. Keep it coming, and I might finally get annoyed by you."

"How are you feeling?" Karin asked. Her false bravado amused him.

"Well enough to set out on a new mission. I only asked you to come with me to look for Itachi. However, I find that your aid might still come useful. So are you with me?"

Juugo answered, "Yes," promptly. Suigetsu tapped on the shiny surface of the Head Cleaver's blade with his nails and smiled toothily. Sasuke took that as an agreement.

"I did have some business of my own," Karin said, flipping her flaming hair over her shoulder flirtatiously. "But I can postpone it. Count me in."

Days on the road, endless and featureless, passed as one. They asked him only once where they were going. "There's someone else I need to visit before we go after Madara," he replied, and there were no more questions. When they finally arrived to the point of destination, Suigetsu gave a mildly surprised whistle and Karin mumbled, taken aback:

"But that's…"

Sasuke surveyed the dusty yellowish bands of streets laid out in the valley before them and whispered grimly:

"Konoha."

Konoha it was. He hadn't seen it in three years. Not much had changed: it was still the same noisy place, so vibrant it hurt to look at it, covered in verdure all over. The first night Sasuke didn't dare leave the hotel room. Konoha was a few kilometres away, brimming with energy. He wondered how many teams were at home now. He wondered if _he_ was at home.

He had to be. Juugo's birds told him that. And the next day Sasuke took a walk down to his native village and found Uzumaki Naruto at the training ground by the river. Sixteen shirtless Narutos, sweating and panting, were practicing what seemed to be some advanced form of the Rasengan. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. For a moment Naruto's gasps came too loud and thundered in his ears and made him sick. He wanted to cover his ears and never hear this amazingly strong sound again.

The clones suddenly vanished. Naruto began slanting forward. For a moment Sasuke could see nothing but his messed up golden hair. Kakashi's hand squeezed his shoulder gently and supported him.

"He-ey," Naruto whispered in a quiet breathless voice.

"You shouldn't work yourself so hard," Kakashi chastised him in a soft fatherly manner.

Sasuke frowned. Naruto looked completely exhausted. He was about to leave, having decided he had seen enough, when Naruto suddenly lifted his head and said:

"I'm fine. I don't have any more time to waste. With each passing day he might be getting farther and farther from me. I must get stronger and make him see me." There was such fierce determination in his eyes, such burning passion… Sasuke wondered if he had ever deserved such devotion. Naruto licked his chapped lips and forced himself to hold his balance. "You'll see, Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke will return and he will see how strong I am now! I'll prove him that I am to be reckoned with. I'll make him want to stay, believe it!"

Sasuke smirked bitterly. Oh yes, Naruto would go to the edge of the world, should he ask him. 'It's settled then,' he decided on the way back to the hotel. 'Tomorrow night.' Tomorrow he would have his bait and his ultimate weapon against Uchiha Madara.

But before that… before that the night descended softly over the land that lay asnooze in its bedding of foliage and dust. Sasuke sat on the bed by the open window and stared up at the stars. The stars above Konoha always seemed brighter. The stars above Oto had been… duller. The stars on the road were just _different_.

One storey above him someone was playing a flute. Sibilant, dreamy music flowed through the air. Sasuke lowered his chin upon his hands resting on the window-sill and peered into the spongy darkness seeping with silvery starlight. Juugo's quiet voice disturbed him a few minutes later.

"How old are you, Sasuke?" the man asked irresolutely.

Uchiha cast a long misty glance at him. "Sixteen. Why?"

"Just so," said Juugo and exited the room without further ado.

Sasuke resumed his pointless affair. The music died down before flickering back to life in a lingering violin-like melody, and a gentle female voice struck up a soothing, unpretentious song. Sasuke closed his eyes. Why had Juugo asked his age? It seemed to him it was the first time that Juugo had showed curiosity about something.

The night slowly melted into a smoky scarlet morning. Sasuke had no sleep. In the end he rose from his post by the window, slipped his traveling cloak on and headed to the village. And there he found himself standing by the unremarkable grey door, waiting, waiting, and waiting, suddenly unable to knock…

* * *

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughtfulness to see Naruto squatting beside him. The blond's forehead was creased as if he was trying hard to understand something (and obviously mental work was not Naruto's strong side). He looked Sasuke in the face, leaning in so close it almost felt annoying, and asked enigmatically:

"Why so glum?"

Giving it more thought than the matter clearly deserved, Sasuke finally pushed him away. Naruto dropped on his backside and whined: "Heeeey! I'm just curious."

"That's what bothers me."

He rose and entered the swaying pool of flowers, sweeping his open palm over the half-open buds. Fuzzy stamens tickled his skin. 'Naruto… Just leave, leave, _leave_, damn you!'

"Y'know," Naruto remarked moodily, "I couldn't but notice you've been awfully quiet all day. I almost miss Team Hebi. It seemed a lot easier when we traveled with them."

"What is it, Naruto?" Sasuke interrupted unkindly. "Small talk? I'm not much of a man for it. Go bug somebody else."

Naruto stared at him numbly. Anger built up slowly inside him.

"You're such a selfish jerk, you know that? What is your problem again? What the fuck is your problem?"

Sasuke gave no reply. He wouldn't indulge this clueless, nosey, immature brat with any confessions.

"When will you get your head out of the fucking rain cloud and stop thinking you're the most miserable person in the world!?" Naruto fumed. His anger was tangible; it rolled over Sasuke like a crimson wave, leaving a chasm of hopelessness as it passed. "What is wrong with you? Why can't I reach you? Just fucking admit it: life can be normal! You were happy last night with me and Sakura-chan. I saw your eyes; you felt safe!"

Sasuke released a slow hissing breath. He wished Naruto would stop yelling, but the blond just kept throwing those hideous and painfully obvious insults at him. 'This won't work,' he thought wearily. 'No matter what, it won't work the way you want it to, Naruto.' He spun around and glared at his opponent with dark unblinking eyes.

"Would you please stop acting like you know all about me?"

Naruto wavered. Sasuke's deadpan voice left no room for arguments. And suddenly Sasuke was in front of him, the heat of his breath steaming over Naruto's skin and sending shivers down his spine.

"Jerk," Naruto mouthed; his flagging rage left a strange taste in his mouth.

Dim moonlight fell onto Sasuke's face. Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Now, _now_ that Sasuke was finally here, he seemed to be even farther away. 'I can't afford to lose you…' Naruto thought furiously. 'Not when you're _this_ close.'

"You don't know me," whispered Sasuke.

"I want to."

Seconds wore on.

Sasuke licked his lips. A sweep of the tongue, the movement he barely even registered. Naruto drilled him with a stubborn look.

"Just leave me alone, okay?" Sasuke exhaled.

A hand brushed his forearm lightly.

"Never."

Just how could one single word sound so arduous, so significant, so _crucial_?

* * *

That bloody night was so cold. Naruto kept watch, sitting by a lonesome tree on the outskirt of the meadow. Kakashi and Sakura slept by the fire, so close that sometimes, watching the sparks swarming around them, he feared they would hit their blankets.

From the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke get out of his bedroll and walk slowly up to him. Naruto didn't spare him a glance. He had already made his point. Fine, Naruto thought he could live with that. They both wouldn't go back on their word.

Sasuke squatted beside him and whispered: "I don't want to lose you either. All of you." _Please…_ A sidelong glance at the sleeping teammates. Naruto tensed.

"Then why..?"

Sasuke pressed a finger against his lips. "I don't know how… I just can't… You know that about me." He leaned into him and rubbed his cheek against Naruto's cheek and closed his eyes.

Sasuke's skin felt cold. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's shoulders. Drunk on the faint smell of pollen that got smeared over the youth's palms, he didn't move and simply let Sasuke stay _this_ close to him, their cheeks pressed together. Unaware of the fact, they were thinking very similar things.

Forget. Rebuild, restore, recreate something they used to have before. Start over. Naruto would have loved to carry Sasuke's burden only to see him smile, to hear him laugh like he'd never heard him laugh before. Sasuke would have loved to lift the weight of the world from Naruto's shoulders because Naruto just squandered too much time on things and people that didn't deserve it.

Like him.

Sasuke caught Naruto's earlobe between his lips gently and flicked his tongue over it. Grazed his cheek with his lips. Nipped at the weather-worn skin and smiled briefly against it. Naruto's mouth curved into a trembling smile.

He hadn't thought about it before. Hadn't thought it would be possible. But perhaps this was the language Sasuke understood better than words.

Naruto shifted his weight. He ran his hand over Sasuke's back uncertainly, pulling him closer. Standing on his knees, Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's lap and let him move his tongue smoothly along his neck. The blond's fingers crept beneath the crisp collar of the Chuunin shirt. Naruto buried his face on Sasuke's shoulder and laughed quietly. The reason was obvious: it was just too tender, too caring, almost uncertain in spite of that 'night that never happened' that _had already happened_, in spite of the way they had always treated each other.

Maybe they did know this language better. After all, each of them had always been more of a physical being.

Their breath hot, faltering, they wondered how much longer they could bear to play this game.

Sasuke raised his head and flicked his tongue over Naruto's lips, parting them. His tongue skimmed over Naruto's tongue, tasting of some sour sweetness that Naruto couldn't grasp. Their tongues continued their sensual dance, lips barely brushing, bodies barely moving. An ardent moan escaped Naruto's mouth. He clenched his fist, short, ragged nails digging into his palm. They were not alone, and the last thing he wanted was to wake Kakashi or Sakura-chan up.

His eyelids felt heavy. Sasuke positioned himself between Naruto's legs, their bodies mere inches apart, the rough material of Naruto's trousers warm beneath his hand. He stayed immobile and looked past him, savouring the last sparks of that strange sensation.

Naruto shifted and buried his lips in his hair for a split second. He quivered because of the fleeting taste of campfire ashes at the back of his tongue.

Sasuke got up then and slowly stumped back to his bedroll. The deafening sound of his own heartbeat, steady and powerful, vaguely reminiscent of the feelings that bled through his veins like molten lava, lulled him to sleep almost momentarily.

* * *

Greyish clouds, smeared in a thin layer over the sky, cast sparse shadows over the whispering forest. Kakashi left the campsite before dawn and set out to examine the nearby forest that stood like a dense wall on the edge of the meadow, stark black against the clearing sky.

Kakashi was concerned about Pakkun's absence. None of his dogs had returned yet. Uneasiness that had woken Kakashi up in the first place, didn't seem to dispel as he went deeper into the forest.

The image of their pursued enemy popped into his mind. Some unintentional, unconditional desire to rip the mask off the face of that jester drove him forth. He still hesitated, even somewhat feared to discover that the body that had once belonged to his friend was now held by the enemy.

It could be any Uchiha, really. Soul transferring jutsu were a rarity, yet nothing unheard of. Sixteen years ago (or whenever) there were still many members of that family alive. Madara could have chosen anyone. Yet something told Kakashi he shouldn't dismiss the thought of Obito being alive too glibly.

He effortlessly willed Obito's face back to life in his memory. Roundish, soft-featured, not exactly handsome unlike those of his kinsmen, but attractive in its own flippant way, animated with an impudent lively grin. Deep onyx eyes. Dark hair, ridiculously sticking up. ('You're one to talk!' Obito would laugh.)

Kakashi couldn't recall when he first had this wild guess. Perhaps after the unfortunate encounter with Tobi when the Leaf squad had been pursuing Sasuke. Tobi knew him. Tobi had tried to tell him something. Tobi had said Kakashi's eye _belonged to him_. Honestly, Kakashi was not a slow thinker. He didn't need any more hints. Tension increased; he was about to ask Hokage-sama to let him go on a mission after that strange Akatsuki when she expressed a sudden wish to see him first. She had invited him to her office and announced that Naruto had gone missing. Upon learning of Sasuke's involvement in the matter Kakashi kept his mouth shut, though he was secretly happy about having a pretext to meet 'Uchiha Madara' again.

A sudden movement in the thicket snapped Kakashi's attention back to the present. This time he was ready. He spotted the chakra movement and had little doubt who it pertained to. The Akatsuki wasn't trying his best to hide anyway.

"Sharingan no Kakashi," a slightly muffled voice came. The masked man stepped out from behind a tree. "You're the last person I expected to find on my tail. Alone, too. Should I be flattered, White Fang Junior?"

Unwound, Kakashi scanned the area, appraising the situation and calculating his chances. The man's voice was laced with venom, but he sounded tired. Perhaps, the strain on his broken Sharingan had been too much.

"You talk too much," Kakashi stated coolly.

"Ah yes, a privilege of the mighty."

"Or a weakness of the opinionated."

They lunged at each other, perfectly synchronous, their fists connecting in the lowest form of taijutsu as if none of them really wanted to hurt each other. They diverged; Kakashi made a catlike leap and stuck with chakra to the tree trunk. Madara ended up opposite him, his Sharingan boiling with flares of red. Kakashi stared at him, both eyes open.

Suddenly Madara relaxed his shoulders and huffed in a mellow voice:

"Oh, by the way. Obito says hi."


	13. A War With Loneliness

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..." _Sasuke mulls his relationship with Naruto over while Kakashi finally meets an old friend. But the encounter proves to be far from satisfactory. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Where Do We Go From Here_ by Filter. Quotes taken from various _Naruto_ chapters.

**A/N**: Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay, life's been pretty much of a mess these days. Anyway, say hello to Obito, he's finally arrived. He's OOC but that's because he's like… almost 30 years old (hello!) and been through death and so on. I'd call that natural character development, but feel free to flame that part, I don't care. Hope you like the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_**A War With Loneliness**_

_These broken dreams are screams to me_

_The difference I can't see_

_The way you look and talk to me_

_You're cross at me, I freeze_

_The combination of loss, control_

_The loss of soul, I wheeze_

_Just give some ease to me__…_

Naruto was having a funny dream. He was six, maybe seven, and he felt excruciatingly sad because they had put a brand new balancing swing at the playground not far from his apartment, but he had no one to ride it with. He tried to climb it alone and push up with his feet, but it wasn't designed to be used this way. Pouting, he watched others ride in pairs, laughing joyously.

At sunset the playground slowly became empty. Naruto sat on the lowered seat of the swing, the sky glowing scarlet above him. Gentle breeze ruffled his unruly hair. Okay then, like he needed this stupid childish pastime!

He got up, and the swing floated upwards, the seats balanced in a straight line. Naruto raised his head and saw the dark-haired Uchiha boy standing by the opposite seat. A loner, too.

Sasuke mounted the swing and looked at Naruto intently. Wordlessly, Naruto slipped back onto the seat. He pushed up; the swing screeched, and the air shifted, almost palpable, trickling over the boys' skin like warm sweat. Naruto's feet hit the ground, and then he went up again, soaring like a bird in the fading red of the clouds. The swing seemed a lot higher than it ought to be.

Across from him, Sasuke was smiling.

Naruto woke up with a smile on his lips. That dream wasn't an actual memory, but it felt like a warm hello from childhood, a time free of all the complexities he had to face now.

He crawled up to Sasuke ('_Still sleeping, huh? Now that's curious._') and compressed his shoulder lightly. He hesitated if he should wake him up. They were alone by the smouldering fire, the smell of ashes and flowers thick in the air around them. Naruto tilted his head and buried his nose in the ebony waves of Sasuke's hair and exhaled softly against the youth's cheek:

"Yo!"

Sasuke smiled. Naruto could have sworn it _was_ a smile. A genuine one, small, but it spoke for itself.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted quietly and rolled on his back to face Naruto. Their looks, both intent and exploring, entrained into each other. Naruto chuckled; now he was really happy he didn't wake Sasuke up the way he planned to (something like screaming: 'Oi, get up, bastard!' in his ear).

"Where're–?" Sasuke began raspily.

"Not here, that's obvious. I think I heard Sakura-chan get up about fifteen minutes ago, and Kakashi-sensei… well, he's been absent for a while."

Sasuke squinted. Naruto wondered what he was thinking about. Uchiha sat up, his forehead almost colliding with Naruto's. They stared at each other; then Sasuke whispered:

"You know… I think I might start trying harder."

Naruto flashed him his trademark grin. Sasuke's lips curved into a very Uchiha-like smirk. It seemed that everything was going back to normal.

Naruto sprang up energetically. "Where are they!? Don't we have a mission to complete? I wanna kick Madara's ass, then go back home and tell everyone about it so that they would see I'd make a super-cool Hokage!"

Sasuke knitted his eyebrows. Now that was something he wasn't entirely prepared to hear out… just like the rest of the village, he supposed.

Soft female laughter cut Naruto's exhilarated ruminations short.

"Louder, _baka_, Konoha Elders might have had trouble hearing this statement!" Sakura remarked. She tossed Naruto a small yellowish wild apple and then smiled sweetly at Sasuke and held out another one to him. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Morning."

"Ne, where's Kakashi-senseeeeei?" Naruto whined.

Sakura shrugged, eyeing Kakashi's wrinkled bedroll quizzically. She squatted beside Sasuke and asked if she could have a look at his hand. The youth raised it, a frown disrupting the smoothness of his forehead. He had almost forgotten about it.

"It didn't hurt at all last night," he noted. Naruto snickered uncontrollably; that earned him a threatening glare.

"I'm glad to hear it," Sakura drew out thoughtfully. "Don't get your hopes too high, though. It may be a remission."

Naruto drew forward upon hearing an unfamiliar word. "Re- what?"

"It means the pain might come back. I suggest you take some time to train your hand while it doesn't hurt. You might want to start now."

There was something about the way Sakura said it that made Sasuke consider her words. They still had to wait for Kakashi's return, and he needed to cool off and give everything that had happened in the last few days a bit more thorough thought. He grabbed the Kusanagi, forcing it into his numb hand, and walked wordlessly towards the flower field.

* * *

Kakashi sprang forth, dodging the Grand Fireball, and charged a Suiton jutsu at his adversary. The battle raged for what seemed to be hours. Kakashi had lost the sense of time.

The Akatsuki bolted. Kakashi had to admit the man's fighting style was breathtaking, much more than Obito could have ever been capable of. The man inside him manipulating this frail body was an ancient creature and a seasoned warrior. Kakashi recalled another Akatsuki bastard who claimed to have fought the First.

"Kakuzu, heh," Madara scoffed. "Don't give me that face, Kakashi. I can read you like a book."

Emptying his mind of anything, Kakashi attacked. He had almost no doubts left. He flew swiftly past Madara, charging Raikiri at him. It passed through his body, enveloping him in thunderous bluish light.

Madara fell out of step for a moment. The attack left him unharmed, but it gave Kakashi those few extra seconds he needed. He released the waters of a nearby pond and locked Madara inside a huge water sphere.

And then he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Genjutsu streamed into Madara's mind, cutting him off of everything real. He resisted, but it pressed, and it flung him into the blood-soaked battlefield, and it crushed him under the weight of rock, and it splattered his blood all over the stony ground. He knew these memories; they belonged to Obito. He used to dream about this place while Obito was still strong. One by one the dreams left him, and only Kakashi remained to haunt him from to time.

He heard laughter: Rin with her bright jolly eyes laughing timidly at his clumsiness. He was sulking because of it.

He saw a golden-haired man holding two bells, instructing the team to get ahold of them. And of course he ended up tied to the log. He hated the man. The man was the Fourth, the valiant hero of the accursed village, who had disrupted his plans… No, wait, it never happened. The man was his sensei, Obito loved him and respected him above all.

Madara clenched his teeth.

"Just what do you think that will do, Kakashi?" he shouted. Water boiled around him.

Mist covered everything. Running out of breath, Madara tried to advance his own Sharingan – and failed. He had to admit he had miscalculated. He had underestimated the boy. Maybe next time he should…

He found himself spiraling down into the dark oblivion, dissolving and becoming someone else. Someone else entirely.

Madara smirked inwardly. Perhaps it wasn't so bad. Perhaps he could trust that fool Obito with a little part of his plan.

* * *

Sasuke unsheathed the sword and executed a few simple moves. His fingers quivered slightly around the hilt, convulsing and constricting occasionally. The air, fresh and pure, electrified with morning chill, rang like a string when the blade of the Kusanagi slashed through it. Sasuke cleared his mind and let his body move on its own. Each dance-like movement entrained into another, weaving a tapestry of continuous thrusts, lunges, blocks.

Sasuke took a deep breath and mentally reviewed the situation.

His first and foremost problem was Madara. No, scratch that: it was more like Kakashi's problem. Sasuke only viewed him as a target to be taken down; Kakashi on the other hand had been unfortunate enough to get his long-lost teammate mixed into this.

So his first and foremost problem was… the blockhead. Who died. And scared the hell out of Sasuke. And gave him the Mangekyou Sharingan. And then came back to get on his nerves once more.

Sasuke whirled and parried another imagined strike.

And then there was that night.

Sasuke's step faltered. He could practically hear Itachi sneer. Itachi had told him to keep Naruto close… but probably not _that_ close.

Funny that.

The talkative jeering projection of his mind was also a huge problem. At times Sasuke was sure the strain of the past months had lost him his sanity. Besides, the ghost caught Itachi's ambiguous manners, and it was simply annoying.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and spun around. Sunlight blinked in his face sheepishly. He could practically see the ghost standing at the edge of the meadow where the dark forest began. The flaps of his black cloak were swaying in the wind. Sasuke grasped the hilt tighter, hurting his fingers, making them work, trying to squeeze the sickening embarrassment out.

Itachi.

And Naruto.

And once again in his disturbed mind they mixed and became one.

The blade swished through the air.

He came back to Naruto inevitably. To the promises. To the touches. To the kisses. He wondered if the blockhead had wasted his _first kiss_ on him back then. First kiss, heh – wasn't there supposed to be something magical about it?

Sasuke ran the shining blade through the rows of flowers. Lower, lower, down to the soil that was covered in fallen petals, cutting through the stems, up to the sky and down again in a wild zigzag.

It seemed only yesterday his life was black as the night sky overflowing with blood-red clouds. And it felt comfortable that way because he was accustomed to it. And then…

'_Sasuke will return and he will see how strong I am now! I'll prove him that I am to be reckoned with. I'll make him want to stay, believe it!'_

Despite himself, despite his aspirations, despite his denial and against his better judgement, Sasuke was the first one to believe it. And he was going to try.

Separated from the stems, the flower buds soared up and floated smoothly around him. Sasuke stood motionless beneath the rainfall of rainbow-coloured petals, looking at the sky.

What were they, his reckless, erratic feelings for Naruto?

The petals went down. Sasuke returned to the campsite, marched up to Naruto and stuck the Kusanagi into the ground much like Suigetsu loved doing with his zanbato. The blond squinted up at him curiously.

"Wanna spar?" Sasuke asked in a dry, though mildly inviting voice.

Naruto's face brightened into an enormous grin. "You betcha!"

* * *

Behind the mask the Akatsuki gasped frantically for air. It felt as if some icy pincers closed around his neck. Water splashed behind the mask; he spluttered and gagged.

The wave washed back. In a sudden fit of weakness he sank on his knees, his chest tight with the lack of oxygen, and desperately clutched at the fat muddy soil.

He could breathe. Finally he could breathe.

The daze in his mind dispelled. He blinked at the silvery flash and breathed his name in those two or three seconds it took his body to hit the ground:

"Kakashi…"

He regained consciousness a few minutes later. He was lying in the clearing, the remains of Suiton-summoned water splashing quietly around him. The sound was soothing and distracting. He listened to it for a while before indicating he was there. A tip of a kunai pressed probingly against his neck. He saw one dark apprehensive eye stare at him from beneath a crooked silvery eyebrow. He exhaled the name softly again, and his mask was discarded, exposing his pallid scarred face to sparse sunlight and Kakashi's hard gaze.

"Obito…"

The Jounin's hand fell away. He probably gaped at Obito beneath his own mask. Wanting stubbornly to squash the lump that was coming up to his mouth, Obito grumbled pointedly:

"You look stupid. Who else did you expect to find?"

Kakashi chuckled – and then pulled him up into a bone-crushing hug. Obito grunted and stilled in that aberrant, yet comforting embrace. Kakashi was hugging him; this ridiculous notion settled slowly in his mind, and Obito snorted.

"Need I mention there are braces in my right side to hold the ribcage together?"

Kakashi released him instantly. Obito pursed his lips. The last thing he would have expected from Hatake Kakashi, his unspeakably level-headed, self-centered, emotionless ex-teammate, was to hug him.

Kakashi chuckled and brushed the pads of his fingers against Obito's cheek. "Hey, you're crying?"

"No! You spattered me with water, asshole!"

Kakashi laughed. It was a clear, earthly sound that made Obito want to echo it. His lips twitched up in a semblance of a smile.

Then his vision went blurry, and every sound was muffled by a horrible ringing in his ears. He compressed his temples, wailing quietly in pain, bent forth and struggled to breathe, thick spit bubbling on his lips.

The next instant he was in Kakashi's arms, Kakashi's cool, confident fingers resting at the nape of his neck, the other hand rubbing soothingly at his cheek.

"It's okay," the man was saying; Obito marveled distantly at how affectionate his voice sounded, coming through the cloying silence and his own erratic gasps. "It's all right, do you hear me? I'll help you. I'm here to help."

"Help!?" Obito croaked and pushed him away. "You've already helped! I was better off when I didn't remember you, you egoistic jerk!" Tears welled up in his eyes. He staggered up on his feet and tried to get away from Kakashi. "And… you were trying to kill me! What did you want to accomplish using all those fancy ninjutsu against me? You knew it was me, but somehow that–!"

The Copy Ninja's look became grim.

"I drove that parasite out of your head for a while. Could have thanked me, you know."

"You haven't changed a bit, Kakashi! You've only ever seen yourself. You used my own eye against me! Don't you dare lecture me after that!"

He sank back on his knees, his head suddenly spinning. The grass beneath the shiny water scorched his eye with an emerald flash. Tears smothered him, threatening to strip him of his remaining sanity. Somewhere in the middle of this he became aware that his head lay on Kakashi's shoulder and Kakashi's arm was firmly wrapped around his torso, but he chose not to care. Suffocating, muttering curses under his breath, he continued crying.

Kakashi's fingers traced his scars gently. When Obito brought himself to look at his face once more, he noted the old scar that bisected his left eye. He lifted his hand and stroked it shyly.

"Why are you so worried about me?" he asked tensely. "You're not my friend."

"No. But you are mine." Obito rose resolutely, intending to cut this off before it had gone too far. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Believe me, you don't want to be anywhere near me when he wakes up. For fuck's sake, Kakashi! It's temporary! There is nothing you can do! Just face it: you're not all-powerful."

The Jounin snorted. "Since when are you so embittered?"

"Since you came to my rescue like a bloody knight in shiny armour when I _did not ask you to_!"

The most memorable way for Obito to make a point, then leave was to get tangled in the flaps of his own cloak and crash on the soaked ground – which he did. Kakashi squatted beside him, trying hard to choke down laughter. Obito could always skillfully read him through the mask; perhaps because he never really cared about what there was beneath it.

"That's precisely why I'm here," Kakashi said. "To make sure he never wakes up."

"Oh yeah? Just how are you gonna achieve that?" The mockery in the man's voice was practically tangible. Kakashi grunted irritably, having recollected why he had always despised the brat.

"Tell me everything," he asked, masquerading his growing exasperation with peculiar softness.

Obito flashed him a dull look. Silence hung heavily between them. A few minutes later Uchiha suddenly laughed. The sound was shrill and bitter, so unlike the high-pitched, nerve-wrecking, full-of-himself bellring that Kakashi remembered from his youth.

"There's nothing to tell. Hey there, I'm a freaky guy with amnesia and personality split. The name's Tobi."

"I have time," Kakashi pointed persistently. It was not entirely true; his team was coming shortly. But he _had_ to hear that story before he would have to choose if he should start a war with Sasuke because of this.

Obito shut his eye, took a deep breath and said nothing for a long while.

* * *

Perhaps it was the touch that was so maddening. Or the look because no eyes in the world could convey so many emotions at once. No eyes were meant to…

Their bodies slid over each other, meeting and diverging in the air, pulling a series of complex taijutsu moves, feet barely touching the ground… Closer and closer, and wide apart, and close again.

It relieved Sasuke of communicating verbally. He could admit to anything like this.

A blow. 'I want to stay.'

A sharp intake of breath before dodging Naruto's blow. 'Why are you still here with me after everything I've done?'

Swift undercutting. 'It won't work for us… but I'm here now.'

Their bodies colliding, Naruto's hand fisted in his hair. _'Stay.'_

That word cut and stang and hurt so much. Stay. _Staystaystaystaystaystay_… The never-ending chain consisting of one single word.

How many times had Sasuke heard his stupid reasoning?

'_I won't let Orochimaru take you! Even if I have to break your arms and legs__, I'm going to stop you!'_

Slowly the fight became real. Sasuke could taste the metallic flavour of blood on his split lip. Naruto's eyes blazed crimson.

'_Wake up already! If you're still not sure, I'll __break you like a stick and bring you back immobile!'_

Nails grew into claws and left deep stinging furrows on his arms, tearing his sleeves to shreds.

'_Why didn't you kill me back then!? Is that what you call severing bonds, Sasuke!?'_

A muffled groan spilled over into a beastly growl. Why now? The Fox lay alseep when they fought Pein. Why was it waking up now?

'_Like there's any chance someone who can't even save a friend could become a Hokage… Don't you think, Sasuke?'_

Sasuke's breath hitched when Naruto pushed him against the tree. He could feel Naruto's heart thudding in unison with his own.

'_Why don't you want to get the Mangekyou Sharingan? Because it requires to kill someone? Or because it requires to kill _me_?'_

He gave Naruto a placid, almost serene look. He knew he couldn't be there forever… but he would be there now. Right now. Because for hell's sake it was only now that really mattered.

Attachment sickened Sasuke. _Sickened_ him almost physically. Every bond of his had been destroyed. And always would be.

He drew forth and pressed his forehead against Naruto's. His Sharingan switched on, drinking the Kyuubi's chakra away. Naruto panted.

Sasuke didn't know how long they remained this way, Naruto's fingers entwined in his hair, Sasuke's fists clenched around the front of his sweatshirt. The fight carried them away from the campsite; Sasuke's mind barely registered the change in the surroundings. The trees, too. They were in the forest, a few thick trunks shattered by their blows.

Naruto pulled away, perplexed. Sasuke shut his eyes, basking in the lingering warmth.

"Sasuke…" the blond started saying.

Hell… No one pronounced his name like that stupid, obsessive, dead last mor–.

A familiar sensation passed through him. The forest reeked of chakra, and Sasuke just happened to recognize its owner. He cut Naruto off with an exasperated gesture and listened.

"Go get Sakura," he mouthed. "I think I know why Kakashi was delayed."


	14. No Soul To Sell

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..." _Not much has changed: they just keep hurting each other. "Kakashi, I always wanted to be your friend." Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Incident_ by Norman MacCaig.

**A/N**: This is probably the most Obito-centric piece I've ever done so far. Not really any SasuNaru here, sorry, guys! Thank you for your wonderful reviews, fav and alerts! You're the best!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_**No Soul To Sell**_

_I look across the table and think  
(fiery with love)  
Ask me, go on, ask me  
to do something impossible__…_

Obito's story provided little clarity. He had been found dead and revived by the man whom Kakashi recalled from the Akatsuki profiles provided by Kabuto. Obito had had a severe case of amnesia and had started hearing voices a few days after his recovery. There had been lengthy black-out periods which he couldn't recreate. Kakashi supposed that was how the Akatsuki got started.

Obito was as intractable as ever, recounting those distant, hazy events. His eyelid fluttered in some strange hectic rhythm; it seemed that he couldn't stop blinking as though that simple act made him feel more secure.

"Do you even know what it feels like to be torn between loathing and gratitude to a man who had saved you and then screwed you up in the worst way imaginable?" he hissed vehemently after he was done with his tale. "I'm so… so angry. It won't go away. You can't help me."

Kakashi leaned against the damp trunk covered in moss and shut his eyes. This was not the Obito he remembered. Embittered, soaked in darkness, this man would do anything to hurt – and hurt as hard as he could, just because he himself was hurting too much.

Kakashi clenched his teeth. He had to set things right before the process became irreversible.

"How's Rin?" Obito asked quietly.

"She, uh… She is missing. Presumed dead."

Obito's lips formed a silent 'oh'. He scratched the back of his head absent-mindedly.

"Guess you failed at keeping her safe, huh?"

"Yeah, I did."

Obito released a long sigh and wrapped his cloak around his shivering body. Fear, icy and uncontrollable and vast like a whirlpool, engulfed him.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi demanded when Obito prepared to leave.

"Anywhere. Face it, you _can't_ help me. Why would you even try?"

Before he could fully grasp the meaning of the gesture, Kakashi ended up in front of him and gripped his shoulder tightly.

"Because it feels right. Because I failed last time. Does it matter? I'm going to save you whether you want it or not."

'Bloody hell…' Obito thought weekly – and nodded despite himself. And followed Kakashi numbly as the Copy Ninja led him towards their campsite.

* * *

As Sasuke dashed through the forest, keeping a little ahead of his teammates, a million uncomfortable thoughts had their dwelling in his mind. He was induced to trust Kakashi under the circumstances – yet it could be a fatal mistake.

He spotted Kakashi and the Akatsuki right behind him and picked up the pace. The Akatsuki was unmasked and limped heavily, clutching his mask in his hand. Sasuke squinted. So that was Uchiha Obito: sallow complexion, shortly-cropped hair, scars all over the right side of the face and one piercing furious Sharingan eye.

"I knew it!" Sasuke spat contemptuously and lunged at the man.

Kakashi blocked his way and parried his blow. They went still like a grotesque composition, their muscles hard from the tension. Behind Sasuke, Sakura called out to them. Naruto leapt next to the Akatsuki who shied away involuntarily.

"This is not the man you're looking for," Kakashi whispered in Sasuke's ear. Sasuke gritted his teeth. "I'm not asking you to relent. But I need to make sure he can or cannot be saved."

Sasuke relaxed. His wrist, clenched in Kakashi's grip, went limp. His former sensei was asking for the last chance. That silent plea, expressed in one brief look of his dark eye, frightened Sasuke. Kakashi could fight him; perhaps he might even have won and had things his way. Instead he chose to ask.

Sasuke nodded grudgingly and stepped away.

"Sakura," Kakashi said flatly. "Will you please take a look at… Obito-san?"

As the soft, "Yes," reached him, Sasuke looked away. Naruto assaulted Kakashi with dozens of questions at once ('Serves him right,' Sasuke thought with a pale shade of satisfaction), and they left Sakura to her examination, and halted outside the forest at the divide between its dense black-and-green wall and the shimmering flower meadow. Sasuke could tell Kakashi kept watching the Akatsuki from afar and allowed his mind to drift away from the problem for the time being.

* * *

Obito found himself looking at the bright-haired kunoichi, unable to take his eyes off of her. Her skilled hands flitted along the length of his broken body, warm chakra caressed his scarred face, and the feeling of fragile, temporary peace, very similar to the one he had when Kakashi hugged him, was revived in his heart.

Sakura poked his vein with a small sharp needle. Obito gasped, unprepared, and bit the inside of his cheek.

"Sorry." The girl shrugged guiltily. "This might probably hurt again. Just about now."

Another poke. Obito shivered and tried to divert himself from it.

The girl had beautiful green eyes. He had never seen a colour so intense and vibrant and yet so indefinite. Turquoise? Aquamarine? Emerald? He could not say.

She caught him looking and smiled timidly. He could say she felt nervous; it was only natural. Unaccustomed to people looking at him with fear and uneasiness, Obito was embarrassed.

"I had a friend a long time ago," he said, not knowing exactly why he felt like telling her about it. "She was a cool medic-nin. You remind me of her a bit." Her cheeks flushed. Obito shifted uncomfortably. He hated himself for being eternally thirteen and so-not-Kakashi. "You're pretty cool at this stuff."

"Thank you," Sakura smiled. She examined him quietly for a few unnervingly long minutes and then asked: "So, uh… are you a friend of Kakashi-sensei?"

'Sensei,' Obito thought, not without a spontaneous chuckle. It sounded so weird. The Hatake Kakashi he used to know could hardly make a good teacher, certainly not the Minato-sensei level. Yet through Madara he had gotten to know Team Kakashi a bit. And it exceeded his expectations.

"Friend? Heh, no, I wouldn't say that. It's complicated."

"Friendship always is."

He glanced at her and fought a pang of sorrow at the solemnity that masked her face. 'Sasuke-kun,' he thought. 'And Naruto-kun.' He hated his sudden omniscience; it was Madara's knowledge. Tobi had been afraid of him and didn't try to accumulate that knowledge; instead he had silently pleaded 'Madara-sama' to get out of his head. Obito, on the contrary, persevered, grasped at this knowledge to learn more about his unwanted 'rescuers' and was inflamed with hatred for his ancestor.

"I need to run a few tests," Sakura said, collecting her kit, "and compare the results with Tsunade-sama's scrolls. I'm afraid she didn't teach me how to… well…"

"Tsunade?" Obito started. "_The_ Tsunade? Tsunade-hime? Oh, wow! I guess I'm privileged."

Sakura's smile gave away mild playful reproach. "I'm not her, Obito-san. Hang on, I'll be right back."

Alone, Obito closed his eye to give it some rest and tried to sort out his feelings. He had never been particularly good at this, but it seemed like a good distraction and a nice way to get to know himself.

But all he felt was anger. Overpowering, aggressive anger filled him to the brim, creeping out of every corner and gnawing at the core, and he hated, hated, _hated_ the day he'd come alive again.

Piercing pain shot through him, exploding in his skull, spilling forth from the eye where the Sharingan flickered to life uncontrollably. He clasped his temples and groaned in helpless terror.

Visions flooded his mind. Sparring with an agile boy with spiky black mane, much like his own, patting his back and teasing gently: "Soon you'll catch up with your big brother."

Cleaning blood stains off his cranberry-coloured armour, laughing at some joke the man with piercing eyes and sleek black hair had made.

Looking boldly into the red eyes blazing with hate. The eyes of a bijuu.

Obito rocked back and forth, hoping the freefall would end and there would still be a part of him left. He held on to it so desperately that the visions switched, and there he was flopping into a puddle in front of Rin (he was going to leap off a tall tree to impress her) and grinning to disguise his embarrassment. He was seeing a dream that had been haunting him since his early years with the team: he chased a faceless someone and upon approaching he recognized Kakashi, but no matter how hard he tried to catch up, he would only ever see his back.

The pain subsided as abruptly as it had flashed. Panting, Obito focused his gaze at Sakura's concerned face. She was kneeling beside him, fingers, enveloped in the bluish glow of chakra, stroking his forearm gently.

"I'm all right," he croaked. "You're scared of me, aren't you?"

"Not you," she replied after a while. "Him."

Her answer made him strangely confident. 'She'd do it with a medical jutsu,' he thought. 'No pain. I've hurt enough.'

"Sasuke-kun knows what to do," he said quietly. Sakura frowned. "But I'm scared. If I face Sasuke-kun, _he_ will wake up and fight back. Help me."

"But what can I–?"

"You must take Sasuke-kun's duties," Obito cut her off. Her eyes grew wider. "Please." His voice became monotonous. She stared at him with glazed eyes, consumed by the hypnotic abyss of Sharingan. "Sakura-san, it's the only way to help us all."

Slowly the girl's hand rose, blue fire burning around it. The sound of a muffled heartbeat reached Obito's ears. He swallowed nervously as the hand drew near, reaching towards his chest. One strike to stop the heart, and his chakra would burn out, and everything would be over.

And it was.

It ended in a flash when Kakashi grasped Sakura's wrist firmly, and the girl snapped out of her Sharingan-induced reverie and eyed them both in shock. Obito's lips trembled.

"Sakura," Kakashi said in a low flat voice. "Leave."

He unclenched his fingers, and the girl staggered a few steps back, breathing heavily. The realization of what she was about to commit descended gradually upon her. She turned around and ran.

* * *

Kakashi had always been fairly good at expressing himself verbally. He never resorted to violence unless there was no other option. This time, however, he felt no words could be enough.

He hated Obito. He loathed, and despised, and hated him so passionately that a mere thought that he had wanted to save him now sickened him. He manifested it in a hard rainfall of punches, tossing Obito on the ground, kicking, hitting, hating him physically like that. Obito barely tried to resist. Kakashi suspected he wouldn't forgive himself later for losing his temper like that, but he simply couldn't stop. The hatred was intense and scorching, and he recalled that he had succumbed to something so atrocious only twice: when his father killed himself and when Team Yellow Flash had to leave Obito to die. That was a side of Kakashi even he didn't want to know.

Obito whimpered plaintively. His scars wrinkled as a grimace of pain obscured his face. It sobered Kakashi up a little. He grabbed a fistful of Obito's cloak and said in a steely voice:

"You filthy little coward! You're so afraid to look your past in the face that you'd rather turn a by-stander into a murderer!"

Obito's bloodied lips trembled. He was an Uchiha after all. Madara's pride spoke in him. He glared haughtily at Kakashi.

"It's not like she's never killed anyone before." Kakashi let go of his cloak, and Obito tumbled heavily on his back. "It's so very noble of you! You should know all about fears of the past; you who drops people off like useless baggage!"

A cold laugh escaped Kakashi's lips.

"You're one to talk, Uchiha Obito, the paragon of selflessness. Dying is undeniably easier than solving problems. But life shouldn't be too hard for someone who has been letting a parasite in his head make decisions for him for years, am I right?"

He knew he was being incredibly unfair. He had gone too far with that. Obito looked away, his face contorted with grief. Kakashi sat quietly beside him, regretting every word and not daring take them back. To his surprise, Obito whispered in a few minutes:

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi grew numb. The pause was getting unbearable.

"Can't hear you," he sing-songed finally, faking sarcastic indifference.

"I won't say it twice!" Obito snapped. He was quiet for some time and then uttered: "I always wanted to be your friend."

Kakashi sighed. "And I always wanted you to live."

"Heh… Guess we don't always get what we want…"

* * *

Sakura ran as fast as she could, tears prickling her eyes. Her step faltered; she fell on the ground and struggled to catch her breath.

The look Kakashi had given her… She shuddered at the memory. He would never forgive her.

She got up, brushed the dirt off her grazed knees and walked slowly towards the clearing.

Tears obscured her vision. When a bright flash of orange loomed ahead of her, she sprinted towards it without ratiocinating and flung herself in Naruto's arms. Abashed, Naruto put his arms around her, feeling her tears stain his skin.

Sasuke watched the scene with tired, unblinking eyes. Then he turned around and walked back to the meadow. Tears were something he really could not stand. Besides, he couldn't be there for Sakura now: his thoughts were occupied with Madara, yet he couldn't even bring himself to ask what had happened between them. Let Naruto handle it.

Sasuke despised himself, running away like that.

Itachi's image flashed right before his eyes. He had seen him like this many times, clad in his regular Akatsuki cloak, standing with his back on Sasuke a few paces away. Sasuke knew he was a product of his imagination, a manifestation of his taunting inner voice, but there were times when he seemed so real… It alarmed Sasuke that he was beginning to see him more clearly these days.

"Were you afraid to die?" a barely audible murmur came.

"Hmm. Where did that come from?"

Sasuke inhaled shakily, uncertain if he might get closer. "Just answer the question."

Itachi kept silent for a while, then replied: "No."

"You lied to me."

"Many times."

Sasuke closed the distance between them. "You lied to me when you said you didn't love me. Why?"

Itachi chuckled mildly. "Think what you will. Who am I to dispel your illusions?"

"This wouldn't be the first time," Sasuke snapped. "I want the truth."

"Truth is what you make of it."

"You tried to tell me something important! What was it?"

Sasuke blinked. Itachi in front of him vanished; another one ended up behind him. The youth turned round agitatedly. His brother's eyes sparkled with poorly disguised taunt.

"How would I know?" Itachi remarked. "I'm dead."

* * *

By nightfall the panorama before Kakashi's eyes was next to idyllic. Obito fell asleep, exhausted by the trials of the day. Sasuke kindled the campfire and retired to rest under the dense shade of a huge tree. Naruto soon joined him. It gladdened Kakashi immensely that the boys now stood each other's presence much longer.

Sakura sat by the fire, uncharacteristically grave and solemn. Kakashi fixed his gaze on her absent-mindedly; it hit him after a while he was looking at her knees, two patches of white lined with reddish scratch-marks. She must have fallen. It seemed bitterly ironic that she avoided being injured in combat, yet simple scratches off the battlefield made her feel so uncomfortable.

She looked lonely. Against his better judgment, he felt guilty.

He shouldn't have blamed her for what Obito had made her do.

Kakashi cast a wary glance at the boys and lowered himself on the brittle undergrowth next to Sakura. The girl tensed; it was too noticeable for him to let it slide.

"What are you thinking, Sakura?" he asked sympathetically. Better start from afar.

She tried to dismiss the question with a vague wave of her hand, but Kakashi continued drilling her with a hard look.

"Just… stuff, you know," she uttered, doubtful. "I'm happy that Naruto and Sasuke-kun get along. But… What do you think will happen when we're done with Madara? _If_ we're ever done with him… Sasuke-kun will leave again, won't he?"

"Why don't you ask him about it? You two have something to talk about."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke over her shoulder. He was sitting by a big tree, his eyelids heavy with drowsiness. Naruto blabbered something, fidgeting around him, kicking the blade of the Kusanagi sticking from the ground with his heels absent-mindedly from time to time. Sasuke seemed unperturbed by it. Sakura smiled softly: he had become a lot more tolerant than she remembered.

"He will not talk," she sighed. "It's too personal. You know Sasuke-kun. It's funny…" She hugged her knees and stared solemnly at the glimmering fire. "I never understood him well enough. I never understood Naruto either, or even you. I've never lost a precious person. I can't…"

"Say, Sakura," Kakashi wondered, as if having recalled something. "Did he treat you well in the morning?" The girl knitted her eyebrows, then nodded curtly. Kakashi's visible eyes curved into a cheerful crescent. "I believe Sasuke understands he's been alone long enough. The people we lose are irreplaceable, and it's very hard to cope with the loss. It's like you have to relearn to live in the world without them." His face darkened slightly. "Sasuke was running away from the bonds he'd formed with you two. He fears you'll never truly accept him… and he's trying his best to get used to you again."

"But… he's wrong!" Sakura protested passionately.

"Deep inside he might even be scared," Kakashi went on gravely. "That's why he keeps building up these walls and rejecting you. It was hard enough for him to reunite with Naruto after all these years. And now you're back in his life too. He must start over, learn to function as part of a team or at least say hello in the morning."

Sakura wondered if the sensei had had the same bitter experience. She squeezed her eyes shut and released a slow breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Kakashi-sensei... Do you think I mean anything to him? Not as his teammate, but as a… friend."

"I don't know how he feels about you. But I'm sure he values your friendship. He trusts you; otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Sakura blushed faintly. Kakashi watched her attentively, wondering somewhere on the periphery of his mind why she hadn't brought up the accident yet.

"He trusts you," Kakashi spoke again, "with Naruto. And Naruto is…"

"…_everything_." Sakura's lips barely moved. Kakashi chuckled.

"When a person trusts somebody with something important – be it to heal his injuries, or to keep his moments of weakness in secret, or to protect the ones he loves… You know what that means, right?"

Sakura looked directly at him; her lips were trembling.

"Kakashi-sensei! Please forgive me!" She tilted her head humbly. "I didn't mean to–."

_There_.

Kakashi risked patting her shoulder affectionately. Sakura tensed, unusually apprehensive, but then her muscles relaxed as she gave in to the warmth of his touch.

"No reason to apologize. It wasn't your fault in the least. And to be honest," he snorted sardonically, "each member of Team Yellow Flash had to fight periodic desire to kill Obito. Me, I had it every day."

Sakura giggled and covered her mouth with her hand almost coquettishly. Kakashi chuckled.

"It's about time for a little medical lecture, don't you think?"

Ten minutes later Team Kakashi gathered by the fire to discuss Obito's diagnosis. The man himself, roused urgently by Kakashi, sat a few paces away, looking highly uninterested. Kakashi spared him a single look to make sure it was simply bravado, and gave Sakura his full attention.

"Cellular memory," Sakura said. "This is what we apparently have here."

Kakashi and Sasuke waited for her to continue; Naruto goggled his eyes in confusion and blurted out:

"Erm, Sakura-chan, what's that!?"

"The body here belongs to Obito-san, but there is a foreign spirit within it. Usually when a soul-transferring jutsu is performed, a supplanting effect takes place instantaneously. However, in this case the process of subjugation apparently hasn't been completed. The body sort of repels the implant, and the genetic code preserves some remnants of the original spirit. That's basically what cellular memory is."

Naruto hemmed unenthusiastically, indicating he didn't understand a word. Kakashi cocked his head and wondered:

"So is there any way to get Madara without having to kill him?"

Sakura sighed.

"Obito-san's original spirit, or soul, or whatever term you prefer, isn't strong enough to function on its own. Madara sustains life in the body. Without him… At this rate, I'm not sure they can be severed. The only person known to have ever gone that far in his research of soul-transferring jutsu was Orochimaru."

Sasuke clenched his fists. Kakashi's unfocused case slid over him and returned to Sakura.

"We could take him to Tsunade-sama," she said doubtfully. "But this field of science is poorly explored. It's still considered immoral and illegal by most medic ninja. I don't think Tsunade-sama would go against her convictions even under such drastic circumstances."

Obito didn't budge. Silence fell. The air suddenly seemed hot and viscous to Kakashi: he couldn't just give up on Obito like that. Not after everything he had promised!

"She might not help," Sasuke said all of a sudden, looking up at the sky. A tiny smirk graced his lips. "But there's someone who might."


	15. Kabuto

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ The only one who can help them now is the enemy. They keep dancing on a string above the abyss, and it's only a matter of time till someone falls down.Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Come Home_ by One Republic.

**A/N**: Hi, guys! Remember me yet? Well, here's the newest testament of my insane imagination, I hope you'll enjoy it! And I want to thank you very much for your amazing reviews! They make my days!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_**Kabuto**_

_And right now there's a war between the vanities_

_But all I see is you and me._

_The fight for you is all I've ever known,_

_So come home._

Yakushi Kabuto was having a very bad day. Come to think of it, he was even having a very bad week.

Handling Orochimaru's turbulent power was not an easy task. Every moment of his life Kabuto was going through a terrible struggle for control. He had loved Orochimaru-sama and he would be eternally grateful to him, but his time was past and Kabuto's was just beginning. His intentions were clear: he would persevere and master Orochimaru's abilities, not turn into another mindless vessel for him.

His loyalties lay with the living. With himself, above all else.

Kabuto settled in one of the deserted experimental compounds that belonged to Otogakure. Lost in the western pine-tree groves, it was isolated and suited his purpose well. He restored the laboratories and renewed Orochimaru's experiments on a small scale, with animals as of yet. The last thing he wanted was some petty hunter-nins to come knocking on his door.

Kabuto was a curious man by nature. His work for Orochimaru permitted him to keep a watchful eye on everyone who deserved attention. Now that he was alone, he could still be aware of many things. That was why he wasn't particularly surprised to see Karin on his doorstep one day.

She offered her service.

"Remember, I had always been loyal to Orochimaru," she said.

Kabuto surveyed her suspiciously over his glasses and smirked non-committally.

Her story intrigued him. He knew Uchiha Itachi was dead, but he had little time and desire to keep up with the Akatsuki's business these days. However, the recount of Naruto-kun's short journey as part of Team Hebi got him interested. Now that Hebi was no more, he was sure Sasuke-kun was picked up by Konoha (seeing as he'd heeded some turbulence around it recently). And Kabuto'd be damned, if Sasuke shouldn't wriggle his way out of this dangerous situation. Or even form an alliance in order to achieve his goals. After all, training under Orochimaru could not have left him unaffected. In a way Kabuto almost pitied Naruto-kun and the others: Sasuke-kun was at war with the world, and they were caught in the crossfire.

As soon as Karin told him about Sasuke's new target, Kabuto grew anxious. The man named Tobi was not in the files he had given Naruto-kun. However, his patron, Zetsu, was. And Kabuto knew him well enough to put two and two together when it came to his collaboration with a mysterious man who reeked of Uchiha's chakra. Sasuke-kun called him Madara, Karin had said. Kabuto smiled: he could see a perfect chance to destroy Orochimaru's murderer.

"He will come for me."

"For you?" Karin knitted her eyebrows inquiringly. "What would he want with you?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. A cloud of chakra formed around his fist. As he turned and hit Karin, driving the fatal jolt through her chest, he saw something close to understanding in the woman's eyes.

"It is a really fucked up world, Karin," Kabuto said soothingly. "Nobody can be trusted."

He dropped the body in the lab's freezer. She could still be useful even after death.

What concerned him now was Sasuke. He couldn't challenge him openly yet, but he needed to avenge Orochimaru-sama. Besides, if he could absorb Uchiha's power, he could uncover the secrets of the Sharingan. The sudden changes in his life had made him power-hungry.

Kabuto forsook the solitude of his lab and allowed himself to appear in the nearby town once or twice. It should not be too much trouble for Sasuke-kun to locate him. Kabuto liked the sudden awareness that the meeting would definitely happen. Perhaps it was Orochimaru-sama's grace.

Indeed, one day when he was dining in a small canteen on the outskirt of the town, he felt a tip of kunai sticking at his ribs, and a familiar voice drawled:

"Hello, Kabuto."

Kabuto smirked inwardly. Bull's eye.

"Sasuke-kun," he answered quietly. "To what do I owe the pleasure–?"

"Cut it. We're not here to chat."

Kabuto raised his head and glanced wryly at Sasuke and his company from beneath the silvery bangs. Just like he had suspected: Team Seven in the flesh.

He nodded curtly.

"What is it you want of me?"

Sasuke gestured briefly at the man in the orange mask whom Kabuto at first pretended not to have noticed. The request was simple: to examine him and find a solution to his problem if possible. Kabuto refrained from asking any additional questions. Sasuke-kun still seemed to retain his grouchy persona and explosive temper; picking a fight with him would only prove to be imprudent.

Kabuto took his guests to the hideout, performed a few quick tests and announced that the development of the subjugation seal might take two or three days. In the meantime, they were welcome to make whatever use they pleased of his hospitality.

For a moment he believed Sasuke was on to his plan. The youth scrutinized him with a very Orochimaru-like smirk before walking off in silence. The others glared at Kabuto in turns and followed Uchiha to explore the numerous corridors of the hideout.

It was a standard underground base, rather well equipped, accessed through a hatch which was located inside a rickety superstructure. Chipped whitewash covered its dirty walls. The hideout was shot through with various secret passages only Kabuto knew of, and he took advantage of it to keep an eye on each member of Team Kakashi as they settled in their rooms. Their relationship seemed as strained as ever; against better judgement they chose separate lodgings to sleep in. Something told Kabuto there wouldn't be much sleeping anyway.

Giving in to curiosity, he followed Sasuke as the youth wandered around the territory, refreshing his memory of it. He had been to this particular hideout once with Orochimaru, for a very brief check-up. But there were still some possessions of his stored in the chest at the back of the warehouse. Sasuke located it pretty quickly. Kabuto watched him examine the old sets of clothes that belonged to several Sound ninja of his age and frame, as his fingers dipped into the faded white fabric at the bottom of the chest. He used to wear a shirt like that when he lived in Oto.

Kabuto smiled. He knew this kind of dark nostalgia that later resulted in self-loathing and melancholy very well. He too had always been compelled by the darkness within himself and others.

* * *

Very soon Obito grew accustomed to the new hideout. It amazed both him and Kakashi just _how_ soon it had happened. He took quick notice of several things: he disliked Kabuto, especially the feverish gleam in his crazy yellowish eye, the one that revealed there was an alien spirit within him (no matter how hard he tried the first ten minutes after the meeting, Obito couldn't relate to him because he had taken the parasite in willingly), he disliked being poked with needles all the time and treated like a lab rat, and he was not alone in his predicament. Every member of Team Kakashi seemed on edge these days, even though they had different ways of showing it.

"Hey," a friendly voice chirped close to him. Obito looked up and smiled briefly upon seeing Sakura. "How are you?"

Obito hesitated, taking his pick between 'bad', 'very bad' and plain 'could've been better'. Guessing these weren't the options, he shrugged:

"Been thoroughly out of chakra, used for conducting weird experiments and subject to the most terrible headaches ever, but at least I'm still me. You could say I'm great."

Sakura snorted.

"I've been wondering here… Would you like to spar?"

Obito arched his eyebrows. The girl eyed him expectantly. He shrugged and rose from his perch and followed her towards the training grounds.

It felt almost like having been asked by Rin. In Obito's memory she hadn't done it very often, but this way he had taken even more pleasure in it.

He wondered if Sakura chose him as a weaker of the group. She was a girl and possessed no outstanding jutsu as far as he knew. Certainly she couldn't compete with Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun, not to mention Kakashi. She probably thought that sparring with him would boost her ego.

But then again, Obito hadn't been a mere nothing in his time and he had learnt quite a lot from Madara as well. If that was indeed what she was hoping for, she would be disappointed.

Sakura opened her mouth as if to request something. He was fairly certain she would ask him not to use the Sharingan and almost visibly relieved when she did not. A true shinobi would never try to soften the rules.

She lunged at him without a warning. He ducked, avoiding a combination of blows, and she dashed past him, overturned in the air and struck again. She moved speedily, confidently – and just slow enough for his Sharingan to read her movements. Obito's lips curved upwards slightly.

He sped up to her, their limbs dancing, engaged in sharp taijutsu moves. She was strong and carried some strange aura of rough grace about her – nothing like Rin, who had been soft and smooth, in this case.

He blocked her up between the barn where one of the labs was located and the rickety superstructure that masqueraded the hatch that led down into the main lodgings. She used a Kawarimi to distract him and then produced a clone and made for him, blue fire of chakra blazing around her fists. Obito intercepted her hand and tossed her against the other copy. He wasn't wrong: the clone vanished with a quiet 'puff'; Sakura leapt up and forward, flinging herself against him as if her body was an integral deadly weapon.

Obito dodged and was suddenly out of her field of vision. Sakura looked around quizzically – and punched the ground with her fist resolutely. The ground splintered and heaved, clots of dirt and grass scattered in the air.

Obito emerged from the ground. They clashed again. Sakura flashed him a dark look in response to his obvious disarray.

"Pretty good for a girl, huh?" she grinned. "I wouldn't be taken as a weak link."

Obito barely had enough time to avoid getting cornered.

"Who says you're one?" he breathed exasperatedly. He felt angry with himself for losing control of the situation. "And for your information, I wasn't being the slightest bit chauvinistic about you!"

She knitted her eyebrows sardonically. "Of course you weren't."

Before he could fight back, she got ahold of him and pushed him against the lonesome tree close to the barn. He felt the trunk split beneath his spine. Was she really that strong? Or was he that weak? Something told Obito both factors were involved, but the pan was leaning dangerously towards the second point.

"Can I get you to promise me something?" Sakura wondered.

"Huh?"

"If I win, will you grant my wish?"

Obito eyed her, astounded. Slowly, a smirk came upon his face. He executed a light move to push her away and crashed several swift well-aimed attacks down on her. To give her credit, Sakura defended herself excellently.

"You gotta win first," Obito grinned.

They continued fighting, yielding to each other occasionally and taking over again, manipulating both force and cunning with ease. In the middle of a complex attack pain exploded violently in Obito's head. The world around him blurred. He clutched at his temples and gritted his teeth, struggling to contain a moan. When he came to, Sakura was holding a kunai at his throat, smiling triumphantly.

"That's not fair!" Obito pouted. "You took advantage of my… s-situation."

"Who says shinobi always play fair?"

She had a point. Obito scowled.

"'Kay! What do you want?"

"Promise me something," Sakura whispered. She leaned into him, and he felt her cool lips brush his forehead. "Promise me you'll live."

His eyes wide open with astonishment, he wanted to protest (giving such promises would be dishonest, after all), but a slight turn of his head made him see the reason for her behaviour. Kakashi was sitting in the tree not too far away from them, reading. Or at least pretending to read. Obito was sure he had paid heed to their sparring session.

Sakura pulled back and hastened away. He truly wished he could promise her anything, but as usual, such miracles were beyond his power.

"Nice kids you got there," Obito remarked as he came near Kakashi. The Copy Ninja's face was partly hidden by the book; its bright orange cover disturbed Obito's vision. He added gruffly: "Probably better than you deserve."

"Ah, I was expecting you to say this," Kakashi said, clearly satisfied. "You've grown quite predictable."

Obito frowned. He wanted to smack Kakashi for being so nice to him all of a sudden. His friendly teasing and seemingly disinterested aura served as the best protection from the darkness that stirred within Obito.

The former Akatsuki pushed Kakashi in the shoulder lightly, scowling in dramatic exasperation.

"What are you reading again? Never seen you with a book unless it was some awesome training scroll."

He snatched the book away from Kakashi, barely meeting any resistance, and flipped it open decisively. Kakashi watched him with sheer amusement.

"That's… Oh… _Oh_!"

"Wha-at?" Kakashi laughed. "I'm over eighteen already."

Pouting, Obito muttered something under his breath. Kakashi's fit of cheerfulness had to be stopped before it had gone too far.

"Why do self-centered pricks like you always win?" Obito grumbled.

Kakashi, having got his book back, cocked his head over it quizzically. "You think I win?"

"Your life isn't perfect. But it's a hell of a lot better than what I have, so don't you dare complain!" He flashed Kakashi (who seemed rather mystified and probably wasn't about to object) a poignant look and grabbed ahold of the misfortunate _Icha Icha_ volume once more. "Anyway, I should be off to my appointment with Doctor Snake-Eye and I confiscate that for… uhm…"

"Educational purpose," Kakashi supplied obligingly.

Obito nodded absent-mindedly. As soon as Kakashi's implication settled in, he blushed fiercely, shot his companion a glare and retired to Kabuto's examination room. Kakashi's warm chuckle followed him down to the hatch.

"Jerk," Obito murmured affectionately.

* * *

Naruto hated the idea of spending several days in the former Sound hideout. The way that freak Kabuto stared at him, his black-golden eye glimmering wildly beneath the lens of his glasses, annoyed him to no end. Moreover, Sasuke and Kakashi shifted to 'ignore' mode; that was obviously their way of boycotting each other's idea about Obito-san's future. Sakura-chan, due to being a medic-nin, spent most of her time watching over Kabuto's developments. Kakashi-sensei busied himself bickering with Obito-san, and it painfully reminded Naruto of him and Sasuke in the old days. Kakashi was far warmer, friendlier, more mellow and more responsive than Sasuke had been, but something told Naruto they used to be very alike.

Sasuke was the worst of all. He would take long walks alone to brood, he stopped sparring with Naruto and practically stopped talking and seemed more engrossed in threatening Kabuto and keeping a wary eye on Obito than being with Naruto.

Not that Naruto was hurt.

Because he certainly wasn't.

He never thought their relationship could be classified as normal friendship. They wouldn't hang out, do some silly things friends usually did… Hell, they barely stood being in each other's presence long enough! But somewhere deep inside Naruto dared hope that maybe… just maybe…

Sasuke was falling away. Again. When Naruto confronted him about it, it earned him a cool-hearted glare and a remark, uttered in the tone that could freeze the sun:

"I said I'd try. I didn't say I would succeed."

"Of course not!" Naruto blurted out. "You didn't have to. You're Uchiha Sasuke; you succeed in everything you do."

Sasuke frowned at that outright flattery; yet it didn't sound false, coming from Naruto. It sounded objective.

"Maybe not this time."

Naruto glowered at him. "Then you're not the person I know."

Knowing full well it was useless to pick a fight (Sasuke would probably dismiss it with his habitual – and highly annoying – 'Hn' and wander off to wallow in his dismal musings), Naruto left for the small training ground and practiced his taijutsu moves. He felt lonely, but persevering – just like good old times.

After he was done, he hung a few targets on the trunks and polished his aiming. Shuriken stars whistled through the air; soft tingling vibrations echoed in Naruto's body as he jumped up, turned somersaults and struck again. One of the shurikens flew past the target; Sasuke caught it and twirled it around his finger absent-mindedly.

'Show off,' Naruto thought grumpily and did his best to ignore the bastard.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke began. Naruto _hmphed_ matter-of-factly. "Are you happy?"

The question made Naruto's shoulders tense.

"Compared to what?"

"Everything. Have you ever been happy?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well… yeah, loads of times. It doesn't take much. Some special people and an activity to keep me busy."

"That's it, huh?" Sasuke averted his gaze. His lips were pursed, and the vein on his temple was bulging, just like it usually did when he hesitated to ask something. "Am I on the list?"

Naruto stared at him. That was such a _stupid_ question! He took a deep breath to stifle a series of curses ready to spring forth from his lips and murmured:

"You know you are."

Sasuke drew closer.

"Am I making you happy now?"

Naruto's breath hitched.

"Is there a reason for this interrogation?"

"Curiosity."

Sasuke turned round and walked back to the house. Naruto's lips formed a silent 'oh'. He wondered if this qualified as a frank talk. Something told him it did, and he wasn't about to let the chance go.

He caught up with Sasuke who skewed up at him gravely.

"You, uh… Give me back my shuriken."

Sasuke held out his hand without a word; the star slipped off his finger into Naruto's hand.

"You ever been happy?" Naruto wanted to know.

"Yeah… A long time ago. When I had my big brother to watch over me."

"Not a moment after that?"

The answer came soft, barely perceptible. "No."

Naruto smirked inwardly. 'Liar.'

"You know what would make me happy? If I knew you wouldn't run off again. I won't let you suffer like you did! And I won't let you make people who care about you suffer."

He kneaded Sasuke's shoulder with his hand gently, then sank on his knees, tugging Sasuke along, wrapped his arm around him and hugged him from behind. He wasn't sure it was a good idea, but at least Sasuke didn't push him away.

"Yeah… that's your stupid ninja way, isn't it?" Uchiha croaked; there was a hint of a smile in his tone.

He tilted his head backwards so that it rested on Naruto's shoulder. They didn't know how long they sat like this beneath the sparse sunlight without saying a word.

* * *

The woman had red hair, tinted with hoar-frost, and a rather impressive form clad in a stylish shirt and small, very revealing shorts. She must have been pretty when she had been alive.

Obito slammed the door shut a few seconds before Kabuto entered the examination room.

"Looking for something, Obito-san?" the medic-nin asked in his customary mellow, civil voice. The kind of voice that made Obito sick.

The man stared at him, bewildered.

"There's a dead woman in the freezer."

Kabuto arched his eyebrows, came closer and peeked inside the compartment with vague curiosity.

"She used to maintain the South base. One of our most valuable employees." The way he spoke made Obito think it was only natural for Oto's 'most valuable employees' to end up like that. Kabuto cocked his head and surveyed him with slight interest. "Does it bother you?"

Obito looked at the compartment door over his shoulder and shrugged casually. He was fairly certain that he too might once have been a body in a freezer.

Without further ado, he took a seat, recalling with a pang of nostalgia how much he used to hate medical examinations when he was little. Doctors would poke him with strange instruments, ask him to say 'Aah,' and auscultate his heart and lungs, and he would make funny wheezing noises only he could make to spite them.

His breath hitched. A familiar wave of fear washed over him. It was coming again.

"No, please, don't," he squealed…

…and it covered him completely, muffled him up inside a warm cocoon of forgotten emotions, only partially his.

"My name is Uchiha Obito," he was saying, sitting on a sun-heated porch together with his teammates in front of his sensei. "I like… Uh, I dunno, I like a lot of stuff. I dislike… I guess I don't dislike anything." He grinned. "My hobby is doing some cool stuff, y'know. And my dream is to become the greatest of all Uchiha and have everyone acknowledge me as a number one ninja!"

He was watching the eldest Senju from the shadows, intoxicated with hatred, and envy, and admiration. This fire would never burn out completely. He loved and hated Hashirama, and that mingled feeling revolved in his heart with the power of a typhoon, and nothing could put it out.

He was training with his brother and got carried away and cut across his cheek with a kunai. The wound was small and shallow; it never really bled. Madara smiled, raised the kunai to his face and inflicted an identical cut upon his cheek. "We are brothers. We share everything."

He was balancing on a shaky tree brunch with Rin as his opponent. He knew the sensei was watching from the distance and wanted to do his best, but this was Rin, and he had recently understood how much he liked her.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something!" they blurted out simultaneously.

"Okay," Rin giggled. "You go first."

"Nah, I'm the gentleman. You go first."

She blushed faintly. Oh, a good sign when it comes to girls. Obito smiled at her. Rin took a deep breath and fired off:

"What do you think about Kakashi?"

His smile faded. He was looking into Hashirama's eyes as they banished him from the village and remained proud and unbending like a true Uchiha should. Slowly the eyes of a Senju bled into Kakashi's eyes, one burning with Obito's Sharingan, and then he was staring into Kabuto's snake eyes. The medic-nin's lips curved into a smile, sinister and snakelike as everything about him was.

Obito exhaled shakily and opened his eye. Kabuto who was standing behind him withdrew his hand holding a long metallic needle infused with chakra and took a step back.

"You had a seizure," he replied to Obito's unasked question. "I was going to–."

"You were trying to kill me," Obito whispered. "It's okay. If that's what it takes."

Kabuto's face went blank. "Who are you?"

The Akatsuki turned his head slowly and smiled. "Who do you think?"

* * *

As soon as his patient left, Kabuto sorted the charts out and focused on a far more interesting object of observation. He would have enough time to ponder this 'Tobi' later.

Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun had recently made it downstairs and now strolled the corridors, the blonde being obnoxiously loud as usual. Uchiha acknowledged him with so much as a slight inclination of his head, completely lost in brooding.

They entered the lab just when Naruto was about to colourfully describe what he would do to 'that insane four-eyed freak who's so full of shit' (and whom Kabuto rightfully took to be himself). The youth wavered for a moment, then shot Kabuto a pointed glare.

"Don't you have some work to do?" he growled irritably.

Sasuke squinted at him. He must have noticed it too: those crimson sparks that flared briefly in Naruto's eyes. His voice sounded the same, yet somehow different, laced with various rich accents that weren't there before.

"I think I'll go check up on… something that, uh, needs checking up on!" he muttered in his usual voice and left the room.

Kabuto smirked. He turned back to his notepad where he was making notes on Obito's condition, never forgetting to keep watch on Sasuke-kun. The youth remained in the examination room as if uncertain if he had anything else to do.

"I'm glad to see you and Naruto-kun have made up," Kabuto noted nonchalantly, earning himself a glance. "It's refreshing. Friends shouldn't fight."

"Do you by chance happen to have a point?" Sasuke asked in a dull voice. "Because if you don't, I suggest you shut up and go back to work. And if you do, I'm not sure I am interested."

Now-now, he had surely become more talkative. Must be Naruto's influence.

Kabuto shrugged. "It's just that… You know what they say about dead people. That they should stay dead. After all, you never know what might return."

He raised his head and met Sasuke's intense gaze. The youth stood still, never indicating any interest in the matter, but his eyes betrayed him.

Kabuto could tell he was remembering Orochimaru's experiments in reviving the dead. Those misfortunate zombified bodies had little to do with their original owners. He knew exactly what Sasuke was thinking.

"Naruto-kun is very much alive, isn't he?" Kabuto went on, satisfied that he had managed to capture Sasuke-kun's attention. "But the fact is, he _had died_. For all you know, he just might not be the same. Considering what's inside of him…"

Sasuke's face acquired a menacing countenance. Before he made it closer, Kabuto retreated towards the door and concluded cheerfully:

"Is it really this late? I'd better get back to business. Have a nice day!"


	16. Human Error

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..." _Sometimes there's little difference between a saviour and a jailer. Naruto has to make a point and Sasuke has to understand. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _How To Save A Life_ by The Fray.

**A/N**: It's me again! Who would have thought, eh? Uhm… I wanted to highlight that though in the manga Itachi had severed Orochimaru and thus rid Sasuke of the Cursed Seal, here Sasuke can still turn into the winged monster-thing. I didn't know that being rid of Orochimaru also switches off the Cursed Seal when I began writing this; besides, it's pretty important plotwise. So the deal in the fic is: Orochimaru – no, CS – yes. Also, thank you as always for your magnificent reviews! I hope the story won't disappoint you as it goes on. We have about 5 chapters to go))

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_**Human Error**_

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life…_

Bedrooms in the former Sound hideout were small, but not uncomfortable. However, though well ventilated and equipped, the rooms lacked one thing that was vital in Naruto's opinion: windows. Over the years he grew so accustomed to sleeping outside while on missions or with his bedroom window wide open so that he could see the stars and make wishes upon them – and that habit wasn't the easiest to kick.

He closed his eyes, telling himself at least some sleep was necessary if he wanted to be ready for any nasty thing Kabuto might be planning. He concentrated on one distant memory that had no stars in it, but a breathtaking sunrise.

…"Wake up, brat!" Jiraiya bellowed gruffly in his ear.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He glowered at his sensei and yawned widely before demonstratively turning over and curling up in his bedroll in a more cozy position to state explicitly that he had no intention to get up at the break of dawn just to do a routine check-up on another _Icha Icha_ chapter or whatever else slave labour Jiraiya had in store for him.

The old man snorted, wrinkled his nose, then grabbed his student by the shoulders and pulled him out in spite of the latter's protests.

"Cheer up, Naruto! It's your birthday! It happens only once!.. a year, but that's off the point. It's a magic day; you can be anything you want to be!"

"Can I be asleep?" Naruto groaned.

Jiraiya pretended to miss that and kept dragging him along as he strolled cheerfully up the mountain.

"You're not a chick and I'm not trying to woo you, so quit playing hard-to-get. You'll love it, I promise."

"Oh yeah? How come you never even speak about your birthday, then?"

"That's 'cause I'm old and grumpy, and old and grumpy people don't like to be reminded that they even have such thing as age. Now _move_!"

Ero-sennin was probably the most pig-headed person Naruto had ever met, and he was too tired to perform Sexy no Jutsu right now, so all he could do was comply, silently grieving for the missed opportunity to get more sleep. Naruto freed himself from Jiraiya's grasp and strode after him, looking like a person who had just accepted martyrdom.

Their path lay uphill towards a high cliff overlooking the sea. "We'll have to do a little rock climbing first," Jiraiya warned. Naruto made a sour face.

"Hope it's not some high mountain brothel for pervy monks?" he grumbled.

That earned him an odd look, and he knew he'd probably given his sensei another plot bunny.

When they finally completed the ascension, Naruto already felt much better. He had always loved taking walks with Jiraiya (mostly because Ero-sennin was fun when there weren't any women around and because these walks always had some kind of fun training included).

"Here we are," Jiraiya announced with a sly smile.

Taking the final step, Naruto found himself standing still, his breath caught in his throat. A huge grin dominated his face, and he whispered huskily:

"Whoa!"

At first a soft shade of grey was smeared across the velveteen darkness. It cleared up gradually and turned into a line of silver that grew brighter with each passing second. And then as if by design, a symphony of colours burst into motion and danced and sparkled in pink and golden and crimson light over the waves as they rolled playfully down low in their sandy bed and crashed against the cliffs like myriads of diamond spangles.

The sun had risen.

Captivated, Naruto couldn't bring himself to look away. Layers upon layers, new colours were painted upon the sky until it became so impossible blue and fresh that it hurt to look at it. A soft smile crossed Jiraiya's lips. Something creaked – an unmistakable noise of a plastic cup being torn open. There came the sound of pouring water. In three minutes warm, sating smell of ramen curled off of it like smoke of firewood.

Naruto took the cup and squeezed his eyes shut, keeping the colours of the sky vivid in his memory. His whisker-marks became more prominent for a moment as he grinned again and uttered in a joyful, sing-song voice:

"_Itadakima-a-asu!_"

They ate in silence. When the breakfast was almost over, Jiraiya said thoughtfully:

"There are different types of battles, Naruto. Just as there are different types of enemies. But no matter who you fight, it's yourself you should be wary of in the first place."

Naruto sucked the last remaining noodle into his mouth and squinted up at his sensei. Something told him it was going to be the Kyuubi-related type of lecture. But he was wrong.

"All I'm saying is before you defeat yourself, there's no winning over your opponent. You have to learn to bend and break and sacrifice if you want to overcome the Apocalypse inside you. Every shinobi has been through this at some point. It's your head that matters, not your heart."

"Is that why you couldn't stop Orochimaru?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "'Cause you couldn't defeat the Aco… Apo… caplyse – whatever! – inside you?"

Jiraiya sighed. "I know you're not big on this philosophical stuff, kid. Don't let me mess with you any longer."

He patted Naruto's shoulder and got up to take the way down the cliff. The boy arched his eyebrows.

"You're in a funny mood today, aren't you?" He jumped up energetically. "O-okay! So how are we gonna celebrate the Uzumakiest day of the year?"

* * *

The silence beneath the ground created an eerie atmosphere that reminded Sasuke of living in Otogakure. Not wishing to stay there too long, he forsook his room at daybreak and took a walk around the territories. Too much was on his mind to let him sleep peacefully.

Today he replaced the shirt Naruto had ripped during their fight in the flower meadow with the one that was vaguely reminiscent of his old white one he had worn in the Sound, but with shorter sleeves and a higher collar. Like he had promised, he used the first chance he got to get rid of the Leaf's hand-me-downs. It felt strange to be back to those old clothes, yet somehow Sasuke felt much more comfortable just being different from the others.

He still didn't belong.

In a trancelike state he wandered into the barn and found himself looking upon the rows of cages in which various animals were kept. Pairs of eyes veiled with feverish gleam stared at him, indifferent and unexpectedly intelligent.

Some cages had marks on them; some did not. Some bore the misfortunate seal 'disposable'; others were marked with lengthy, complex serial numbers. Dogs lay on the floor, wagging their tails wearily at the sight of a visitor; cats hissed in defense; rats sniffed nervously, their pointed snouts quavering. Birds chirped mirthlessly just below the ceiling. The stench of unkempt fur and medications cloyed the air.

The feeling of utter disgust engulfed Sasuke. He eyed the darkened lodging morosely, his lips pursed. He had seen many labs like this one in his time with Orochimaru – the labs that experimented on people who had been treated like the lowliest of vermin, and it had only ever made his lip curl, no more.

He was empty. He couldn't care less about their suffering.

Willing to fix that hollowness within him, Sasuke grabbed an iron rod from the pile of litter in the corner and started tearing down the locks. Chaos ensued inside the barn. Howling, mewling, screeching rose to the ceiling and splashed outside in a mindnumbing wave of sound. Fur rippled like liquid as the animals rushed out of the building, hurting themselves and each other; panic prevailed. Feathers swirled in the air, going down slowly like rainbow-coloured snow. In a few minutes the barn was empty.

Sasuke looked up from the earthen floor, lined non-uniformly with half-rotten wooden floorboards that bore the unmistakable clawmarks, and spotted the last cage in the farthest corner of the barn. A small black weasel was looking back at him with shiny beady eyes. When the liberation began, the beast was asleep, curled tightly at the bottom of the cage that had at first seemed unoccupied to Sasuke. Awakened by the noise, it lifted its head and froze nervously, appreciating the situation.

Sasuke approached the cage and opened it the same way as the others. The weasel did not move.

"Go," Sasuke urged it, tapping at the bars lightly. He felt silly, talking to an animal that obviously would not answer or even comply.

Having waited out a full minute, he reached carefully inside the cage and picked the weasel up. Its lithe body felt warm in his grip; he could sense its erratic heartbeat as acutely as though it were his own. He took the animal outside, into the sunlight, and stifled a small yelp when its small, sharp teeth plunged carnivorously into his finger. He released the weasel and watched it disappear amidst the grass.

"They do that sometimes," Sasuke heard a soft voice speaking. "Caged animals. They attack their saviours. When you've been trapped for so long, it may be hard to tell the difference between a rescuer and a jailer."

Sasuke cocked his head to have a better view of his interlocutor. Obito didn't look at him; his gaze was fixed firmly on the worm-eaten wood of the barn door. He looked younger than his true age, his eye narrowed quizzically and his shoulders hunched a little, as if he were trying to look less significant.

When Sasuke's eyes met his, what he saw was pure despair. Sasuke looked away, frightened and disgusted.

"I know you want me dead," Obito spoke up hastily. "Frankly speaking, I don't blame you. I mean, me, I'd want myself dead too. So, uh…" He paused, embarrassed by the absurdity of his words. Sasuke acknowledged the speech with his customary 'Hn' and started to walk away when Obito suddenly added with a sheepish smile: "It was nice seeing a familiar face, though."

"Not you," Sasuke whispered softly, uncertain if the man had heard him. "Him."

Obito in turn gave no indication that the words had reached him. He gazed considerately at the small fan on the back of the young Uchiha's shirt and murmured softly:

"You look pretty much like your Mom."

This made Sasuke turn round and give him a long, appraising look. It was considerably warm outside, yet Obito was wrapped up in his Akatsuki cloak stubbornly. Sasuke found himself drilling one of the dim red clouds with a fierce look. Snapping out of his thoughtfulness, he finally looked Obito in the eye and asked quietly, having recalled something:

"Back at the Akatsuki, my brother... What was he like?"

The question seemed to have puzzled Obito. He scratched the back of his head, smoothing his unruly hair inadvertently; it stuck back up as soon as he moved the hand further. Rubbing his palms nervously, he turned to leave and said in a barely audible voice:

"He was very nice."

* * *

Naruto woke up early, feeling tired as if he hadn't slept at all. The dream had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He sat in bed, hugging his knees and listening to the sound of his quiet breathing in the silence, and thought:

'Never told him how cool he actually was. Never told him how much he meant. Now it's too late to tell him I've found this Apo-thing inside." He pressed his face against his blanket-covered knees and groaned. 'Geez, I could use your help, you old perv, you know that?'

He rose decidedly, blaming his uneasiness on the surroundings, and went up the stairs and out of the shack. The morning was soft and warm, all blue sky and light pearly clouds dancing around the sun disc. Naruto knitted his eyebrows at the sight that stirred up his curiosity: in the distance by the old barn, Sasuke was talking to Obito. Or rather, it was Obito talking, but at least Sasuke wasn't driving him away. Tired and devastated as he was, Naruto smiled at that.

He couldn't help thinking just how connected everything was. That he should have learnt from both his Dad's sensei and apprentice; that he should have looked upon his father's face every day and not known it had been him; that he should have been dangerously close to repeating Ero-sennin's mistakes and losing his most precious person; that their greatest enemy should have been the one person that actually needed saving.

He lay on the grass, staring at the cover of Jiraiya's first novel absent-mindedly. The book lay on his stomach, his hand next to it, the tips of his fingers brushing the back. Little by little sleep claimed him again.

He woke up in what seemed to be a few hours. The grass around him rustled softly in the wind. It was a cozy bedding, but the stuffy, dry scent coming off the flattened barren earth of the training ground disturbed him. He turned over and bumped into what looked (and felt) like a knee. Sasuke's knee.

Sasuke sat on the ground beside him. Naruto propped up on his elbow and noticed with a start that Uchiha was reading his book. The next minute he turned his head; his angry, sorrowful eyes entrained into Naruto's, and for a moment both of them didn't move.

Sasuke's face went blank. Naruto reached out and snatched the book away. Sasuke didn't protest; his hands, now empty, lingered in the same position, as though still holding the volume.

Naruto looked away. They continued sitting like that, without saying a word, lost to the sense of each other's presence and shared secrets.

In time they chose to return to the base. They walked in side by side, following their unvoiced decision to stay together. For some reason each of them felt incredibly lonely today. Naruto still blamed it on the place itself.

He failed to notice when Sasuke had fled to his quarters. It suited him just fine for now; he was planning to harass Obito-san about his father if he could find him. Unfortunately, the first person he saw when he burst into the examination room was Kabuto. 'Darn! How is it that I always run into this creep?' Naruto thought grudgingly. Kabuto smiled politely.

"You don't happen to know where Obito-san is, do you?" Naruto asked through clenched teeth.

"Frankly speaking, I should like to know that, too. I was hoping to have the medicine finished by nightfall and I shall need to run a few tests before I declare it usable."

Naruto knitted his eyebrows. "That medicine. Will it help?"

For a few abominably long seconds Kabuto was silent. Then, "Yes."

Naruto snorted. Just being in one room with this guy was already unbearable. Deep inside he was glad he wouldn't need any help from Kabuto for himself.

"What are you looking at?" he blurted out, catching Kabuto's studious gaze. The medic-nin shrugged.

"Nothing really. I'm just wondering: why do you hate me so much?" Naruto cocked his head suspiciously. "Because I got on your bad side trying to kill Tsunade-hime? I didn't do it on my own. We had a nice time during the Chuunin exam, Naruto-kun. I'm not the one you should be thinking of as an enemy."

Naruto took a few steps towards him, making sure Kabuto could see his eyes: clear and coldly passionate.

"It's true what you said about me. That I was lonely and scared and didn't know why everyone looked at me like I was some kind of a monster. When I found out about the Fox, I was afraid the only person who had ever acknowledged me would turn against me." He grasped Kabuto's collar and pushed him against the wall. It felt good to finally put his greatest reason to hate Kabuto for into words. "But don't you _dare_ compare yourself to me! There is nothing we have in common! I may be a monster, but I am not a freak!"

He gave the man a violent shake and stepped back, eyeing him in disdain. There was nothing he could say to Kabuto anymore. For both their sakes (even more so, for Obito's sake) he hoped they wouldn't see each other again until the medicine was finished.

He made for the door, but Kabuto stopped him once again.

"What about Sasuke-kun? Which one is he: a freak or a monster?"

Naruto froze, turned back slowly and waited for Kabuto to continue. The medic-nin smiled sweetly. His golden eye gleamed dimply beneath the lens of his glasses.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you knew." His voice became sickeningly ingratiating. "The day Orochimaru-sama died, I wasn't the only one to get a piece of his soul. If you want my opinion, I'd say Sasuke-kun got the better half."

Naruto barely heard the last words. He stormed out and ran down the corridor, his heart beating like a trapped bird. 'Sasuke! What have you done!?'

* * *

Out of all the visions that flashed through his mind whenever he would allow himself to be swept away, memories were the worst. Here in the former Sound hideout with nothing better to do, Sasuke found himself brooding over every tiny detail of his life, rushing from the childhood to the recent events, from the first days in the Academy to Orochimaru's death, from the Uchiha massacre to the last stand against Itachi.

And no matter how much these memories hurt, he was sinking deeper and never let himself get out of that whirlpool. He wondered if that was what Obito felt when he had his seizures.

His thoughts darted to Itachi. He recalled a few summer days they had spent almost entirely in the woods and by the river, playing hide-and-seek and tag and all the stupid games children like to play. Itachi had always been very graceful, even as a kid. Sasuke remembered him hopping from one tree to another, already having gained enough control of his chakra, appearing out of the blue behind or above Sasuke and causing the latter's envy and admiration.

He closed his eyes. In his mind he saw the dreary scene of the massacre. Itachi had turned to glance at him over the shoulder and then sprang forth into the darkness, leaving him alone for many years. Before that, there had been something… Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut even harder. Blocked with the layers of hateful memories, there was one crystal tear drop that trickled down his brother's cheek. Brother had been… crying?

"Liar," Sasuke whispered breathlessly.

Then there was Naruto. Naruto was always around. Sasuke remembered their fight on the hospital roof. His own inextinguishable frenzy, water jetting from the shattered water tower on his side – and that cold, slithering envious rage upon seeing that Naruto's water tower had been blown off entirely.

_How could Naruto still be his friend after all that?_

Rapid footsteps were heard in the hall. Sasuke recognized the chakra instantly. It seemed Naruto was angry. His anger tasted familiar, like the one in the Forest during their first encounter with Orochimaru.

Sasuke rose and waited for Naruto to make it to the door. The youth paused briefly before entering the room. When he did, his pupils narrowed to slits and his whisker-marks seemed thicker. Sasuke knew this expression well enough.

'_There's no way such a stupid coward like you,'_ Naruto had screamed at him back then, _'is the Sasuke I know!'_

"Is it true?" Naruto asked darkly. "Do you have a part of Orochimaru's soul inside you?"

Sasuke frowned. He had almost forgotten about it. But it remained in the past since Itachi's spiritual sword had severed that powerful abomination for good. Sasuke decided it was no concern of Naruto's.

Naruto, on the other hand, obviously didn't think so. The blond had never been so violently demanding (if it didn't concern the matter of Sasuke's return home), and Uchiha inadvertently recalled Kabuto's words. 'Those who die are better left dead. You never know what might return.'

Come to think of it, Sasuke had a living example in front of him. The way Kakashi had described Obito was very different from what Sasuke saw with his own eyes.

"Even if I did," Sasuke said coolly, "what of it to you? I can't recall you telling me about the Kyuubi."

"That's different! It's not like the Kyuubi chose it! Orochimaru… That bastard wanted to be inside of you more than anything!"

'He's not the only one,' Sasuke thought – and shuddered involuntarily. The thought was almost sultry, so uncharacteristic of him that he wondered if Orochimaru had really influenced him so much. Or was it Naruto? Perhaps Sasuke had overdosed on their intimacy.

"Can't believe you fucking allowed it!" Naruto wound up.

Sasuke's face went blank. This argument, clean out of the blue, seemed ridiculous. He wanted Naruto to shut up and he told him that in his coldest voice. Naruto had a tendency of getting worked up over the most trivial matters with ludicrous ease, but this was getting out of hand. These were the matters of the past they chose not to discuss by silent agreement.

"What the hell were you thinking of?" Naruto snapped.

Sasuke loomed over him and exhaled vehemently:

"Vengeance. All I ever thought of was vengeance. And if you still haven't understood how much it mattered to me, than you're a fool!"

Naruto's hand shot upwards. Digging his fingers into Sasuke's shoulder, he snarled:

"Care to tell me this hasn't affected you in the least? You've been acting plain weird! Fuck it, Sasuke! You're willing to kill an innocent man for the sake of fulfilling your vengeful ambitions! Is it not Orochimaru's influence?"

Deep inside Sasuke understood it was the tension of this unwanted period of waiting building up, cultivated carefully by Orochimaru's scheming follower, and this gloomy place in which the very walls reeked with Orochimaru's stench, and the events of the past weeks, and his own inability to cope with such a huge emotional overload.

And he couldn't just slam on the brakes.

"I wonder who told you that," he drawled, driving Naruto to the edge. They needed the blast that would open their eyes; more than that – Naruto's eyes. "Kabuto? You're so easily provoked, blockhead."

The blond hurled him down on the floor so forcefully that Sasuke had no time to block the blow. Crimson fire was rising from the azure depths of his eyes. Sasuke stilled, trapped beneath him.

Naruto stared at him for minutes, as if uncertain what to do. Slowly he lowered his head, fastened his teeth against the collar of Sasuke's shirt and pulled it down, then swept his lips over his exposed shoulder. Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut. Naruto's tongue punctuated a hot line across his solar plexus down to his belly, his hands clawing at Sasuke's clothes eagerly.

Sasuke breathed deeply in and then out. How the hell did it come to this _again_?

Naruto's hands, his lips on Sasuke's lithe, tense body were driving him insane. He told himself he should stop it now – and he didn't. And when the caressing heat of Naruto's mouth encircled him, he didn't do anything. A slight frown creased his forehead. He arched his back and released a quiet, shaking moan.

And he didn't stop Naruto.

Nails scraped his inner thigh. Teeth traveled all over his skin, nipping none too gently. Naruto clamped his lips over Sasuke's mouth and roughly pushed his legs apart with his knee.

'Shit.'

Uchiha broke the kiss off and stared at blond's mischievous face intently. He became vaguely aware of how Naruto's hips slid up and his own position became vulnerable.

'Won't let him–.'

Sasuke rolled to his side without a warning; Naruto tumbled down on the floor, snarling in angry offence. Sasuke beetled over him and locked his teeth around his shoulder, biting through his t-shirt. Naruto sat up abruptly, their bodies colliding, and his bright eyes shone with solid conviction. He smirked impudently.

'Never give up, huh?'

Sasuke pushed at his shoulder, trying to get him to lie back. Naruto curled his fingers around the youth's wrist, tearing his hand away, and swiped his tongue over his palm. The muscles in his wrist relaxed involuntarily. As Naruto's lips glided higher, Sasuke tilted his head back and groaned.

He was going to lose this game.

No, he couldn't allow it. That moron… How quickly he forgot his accusations!

Naruto slipped out from beneath him and pushed him back on the floor. Sasuke watched him wearily, his chest heaving with strained inhalations.

"So this is it," he breathed.

"Why not?"

Uchiha smirked. Naruto leaned into him, nipping at his jawline tauntingly. Sasuke let him. Naruto trapped his lips in a voracious kiss and growled hungrily into his mouth. Their tongues danced against each other, taking in the scent and the taste.

Intoxicating.

Naruto's hand felt oddly skillful between his legs.

'Huh! You wish, blockhead!'

Sasuke wrapped one leg around him – and pushed him to his side again, smiling darkly.

"Fuck!"

Naruto lifted his face. What was written all over it alarmed Sasuke. Disappointment and… unyieldingness.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted with pretentious indifference.

Anger seeped out of Naruto's eyes, and he grinned. Just like that, unexpectedly. Sasuke positioned himself over the blond, lips pursed in a thin, pouty line.

"Loser," he whispered in his ear haughtily.

Lost.

Heh. Didn't stand a chance to begin with.

Naruto's smile widened. Sasuke frowned. His gaze drifted lower to Naruto's hands, folded in some kind of a…

'Oh shit!'

He felt a searing kiss at the nape of his neck and nearly lost his balance, taken by surprise. Naruto arched his back, rubbing against Sasuke. His languishing eyes wandered into Sasuke's

dark, angry eyes.

"Smart move," Uchiha commented.

"My best jutsu, isn't it?"

Seriously, that had to be expected. They had practically turned this into some twisted sparring activity; after all, Naruto loved using this jutsu on battlefield.

Sasuke was mad at himself: he should have foreseen this.

The bunshin trailed his fingers down to the small of his back. Sandwiched between two aggressive Narutos, Sasuke felt control was dangerously slipping away. He tried to wriggle out of the clone's embrace; for a moment, lost in obliviating excitement, he couldn't tell which hands belonged to which person.

"Naruto…" he growled as menacingly as he could.

Anger mixed with ecstasy rippled through him. The real one beneath him pulled Sasuke closer and moved, filling him up, forcing constrained lusty moans out of him. Sasuke gasped. The bunshin behind him disappeared.

It was a strange feeling. Strange but good. He caught the rhythm, surprised and angry with his reactions. His throat was dry and hot like it usually was in the last few seconds before breathing out the Katon fire. Naruto moved faster, harder, crabbing his skin with his nails. The necessity for keeping quiet was driving them insane.

Sasuke leaned into him abruptly and kissed him, roughly parting his lips with his tongue, and his groan spilled into Naruto's mouth as well as Naruto's spilled into his. Breaking the kiss off, he collapsed on top of Naruto, completely spent. The blond's erratic heartbeat echoed in his own chest; hot puffs of his breath singed Sasuke's skin.

After a while he rose, trying not to look at Naruto. Sweat on his skin cooled off and now resembled a sticky unpleasant film. He rubbed his palms against one another briskly and started dressing.

Naruto shifted. Sasuke could feel him looking, probably trying to process everything that had just happened. He opened his mouth to speak, and at the same time Sasuke threw his hand up, preventing him from talking.

Someone was at the door.

Naruto sprang up, grabbed his clothes, breathing nervously. Sasuke picked his sweatshirt up and tossed it towards him. He moved to take a position by the door and, when Naruto nodded gravely, he opened the door to find Sakura with her fist raised, ready to knock.

"I've been looking all over for you!" she exclaimed indignantly before her brows, seemingly having gained the life of their own, started creeping upwards. Sasuke lowered his eyes inadvertently. His shirt was unzipped and untucked, its flaps covering the loosely tied belt. His hair was rumpled, a few wirelike strands stuck to his forehead. Naruto stood behind him, his eyes a bit wider than usual. Sakura broke the silence uncertainly, "Uhm… everything okay?"

"What did you want?" Sasuke asked much colder than he had planned to.

"Looks like Kabuto's finished with Obito-san's medicine."

Sasuke brushed past her, suddenly agitated. Then it was now. Now, in a few minutes, everything would be clear. In a few minutes Madara would die, and it didn't matter whether by his hand or not.

He felt uncomfortable under Sakura's slightly bewildered gaze. He tried to convince himself she thought they had been trying to kill each other. Naruto tagged along, his yellowish eyebrows connected in a deep thoughtful frown. They walked up the stairs (for some reason Kabuto had insisted the tests took place in the shack) and entered the room simultaneously, causing slight havoc by the door. Naruto scowled; Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He noticed straight away that Obito was in the room. Kakashi nodded to Sakura and she went outside to fetch him. Procrastination was beginning to get on their nerves. Sasuke sensed some warm disturbance of chakra in the room, something so familiar – yet he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"What's wrong?" he surprised himself by asking, his gaze firmly fixed on Kabuto who didn't look as satisfied as Sasuke would have expected him to, given the circumstances.

"I was sure I had the sample here," the medic-nin drew out thoughtfully.

Sasuke tensed.

"I think we have a problem," Sakura's voice came. "I can't find Obito-san."

Three heads turned instantly towards the door. Kakashi cursed under his breath and rushed outside. Sakura staggered backwards and disappeared out of sight. Sasuke's heart made a violent leap towards his throat. No backing out, then….

"SASUKE!!"

He spun around when Naruto screamed his name. Kabuto darted towards him with a mad glint in his eyes. Naruto ducked and threw his leg up and hit the medic-nin in the stomach. Kabuto leapt up and attacked Sasuke from the air. He missed for the final blow; Sasuke jumped aside and crashed against the chemistry stand, glass shattering beneath him and raining down on the floor. He threw his hand up to reach for the sword, but he had left the sheath in his room.

He looked around for weapons. Nothing but broken glass. He reached out for the shards and sent them flying in Kabuto's direction like shurikens. The medic-nin looked back, dodging the projectiles. It was not his face that Sasuke saw. It was Orochimaru's.

Naruto sprang up and crashed another flurry of attacks down on the enemy. Snakes filled the place; Orochimaru's hoarse laughter floated over their aggressive hissing.

Sasuke's left eye felt heavy and wet all of a sudden. 'Why am I crying?' he though dazedly and brought his fingers up to brush the tears away. The fingers came away smeared with blood.

The eye was burning. Sasuke struggled to breathe past the excruciating pain that exploded in his head. The sight in the other eye was distorted. He covered it with his hand and let the blood stream down his cheeks as his pupil transfigured and waves of black flame spread out through the room. They swallowed the snakes and their master. Orochimaru screamed, but the flames only blazed brighter, devouring everything on their way.

Sasuke's breath came out in short ragged gasps. Something akin to fear nailed him to the spot. He couldn't see anything but the black fire of Amaterasu, produced by his own Mangekyou Sharingan, burning brighter than any light in the world.

Someone screamed. The room around Sasuke, swallowed by flames, capsized. Sakura's shrill outcry, "Sasuke-kun!!" and the sound of something heavy falling down were the last thing he heard before his body hit the ground.


	17. Good Fences

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..." _On the eve of battle Sasuke strikes the deal with the devil. Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Wanting To Die_ by Anne Sexton.

**A/N**: Oh God… I think I hate this chapter. It survived 3 or 4 rewrites, 8 customary proofreadings (please don't tell me I've made a lot of mistakes unless you actually point them out! It's depressing. I like concrit, but saying: you have mistakes – and not naming them is not concrit), 2 rounds of headdesking because of the title and the summary and the strike FF-net obviously arranged against me. Also, sorry for the delay again, I am swamped with work and other issues… Your reviews make a poor little writer happy! hint hint.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

_**Good Fences**_

_But suicides have a special language._

_Like carpenters they want to know _which tools_._

_They never ask _why build_._

Slowly, as the stinging sensation in his eye subsided, Sasuke opened his eyes. He lay in a dark room on a worn-out tatami, feeling the chill sweep over the floor. His body went numb as if he hadn't used it for a long time.

As soon as his vision adjusted, Sasuke discerned a cloaked figure standing on the doorstep. The visitor approached and took a seat opposite the bedding. He turned his face toward a single candle, glowing softly in the corner, and revealed himself to be Itachi.

Sasuke released a small breath of defeat and shut his eyes.

"I lied to you," Itachi said.

"Huh?"

"I lied to you when I said I didn't love you." He spoke in a detached voice as though everything he had to say was in truth completely irrelevant. "I suppose I did. If only a little. But other things were always so much more important than this."

Sasuke's lips curved into a bitter smile.

"I don't regret it," Itachi concluded.

"I don't care," Sasuke fired off automatically. He thought it might be a lie again – and if it was, he couldn't care less for the truth. Truth in Itachi's lips sounded even more ambiguous than lies. "You wanted to tell me something before you died. Why don't you tell me and be done with it?"

"Any bond you'll make after me will be forever reminiscent of me," Itachi said ruthlessly. His voice now had a strange steely tinge to it. "You are afraid. But there's nothing you can do about it. How about moving on?"

Sasuke scoffed. It was a little too late for brotherly advice… He skewed his eyes up on Itachi's ghostly form and wondered how real it seemed. He could almost touch it… if he wanted to.

"No matter what you do, I will always be around. But is it worth cutting yourself off of the rest of the world?"

"And why would I need friends?" Sasuke scowled. "I already have the Mangekyou!"

"Only one thing is worse than living as a fool, little brother," Itachi observed. "Dying as a fool."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. His hand shifted; he held it out self-consciously, reaching out for contact. Itachi's cool fingers touched his. For a moment Sasuke was sure he felt it.

* * *

He awoke with a start. It took him several minutes to realize he still lay on the same tatami, candlelight dim and soothing before his tired eyes.

He turned his head, pleased with the absence of ache – there was just some mild discomfort caused by tiredness – and spotted Naruto asleep on the floor, half-lying by the wall. Sasuke reached out and poked him in the elbow.

Naruto started, blinking wildly, and then smiled with relief.

"Did you… get him?" Sasuke asked in a trembling voice.

Naruto shook his head. "Kakashi-sensei's still out there. How're you feeling?"

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, primarily to see if he could still manage any strong motion. Dull ache buzzed in his skull; apart from that nothing bothered him.

"Like shit," he croaked, causing Naruto to snort.

"That was one hell of a jutsu, you know. Guess my death really came in handy." Sasuke knitted his eyebrows. Naruto grinned, then got up and said matter-of-factly: "Well, I'll go get Sakura-chan. She was worried sick about you."

The impulse rolled through him, and before Sasuke could comprehend his own actions, his hand shot up and his fingers brushed Naruto's trouser-leg.

"Stay."

The blond arched his eyebrows. He looked even dumber with sheer astonishment written all over his round whiskered face; but oddly cute, too.

"Er… okay. I bet Sakura-chan still hasn't finished rummaging through Kabuto's medical stash. Best not to disturb her. He's got some fantastic pharmacy there."

Sasuke's mind was beginning to wander. He tugged on the orange fabric once more. Naruto lowered himself on the tatami and sat quietly beside him. Sasuke just needed somebody's presence before painful emotions and undesired revelations broke him to pieces.

"Talk to me," he queried softly.

"Wha–? You hate it when I talk!"

"Tell me something. Tell me about your dream."

Naruto kept silent for a while.

"When I become Hokage," he said hesitantly, "I'll stop fate from screwing up people's lives. I already promised Neji to change the destiny of the Hyuuga. Maybe I can do something about others too. Because, you know, these clans really suck. And you can't let some abstract thing like fate control your actions. Because, if anything, it's just stupid."

Sasuke chuckled. Inspired, Naruto went on:

"I'll prove that dropouts like me can become heroes too. 'Cause all it takes is hard work, some luck and some faith, not some fancy bloodline limit."

"Hn…"

"I'll hunt down creeps like Orochimaru and make sure people like Obito-san don't fall victims to their retarded experiments."

Soft haze of sleepiness made Sasuke's sensations blunt. He inclined his head to Naruto's forearm and listened to the changes in his voice: from doubtful to passionate, from comforting to stanch.

"I'll make sure kids who are different aren't shunned, bullied or feared. 'Cause no kid should know what it was like for me or Gaara. And damn it, no Jinchuuriki shit! If the village needs a weapon, we'll get it elsewhere.

"Oh, and I'll get my face carved into that mountain right next to ol' Granny Tsunade! Cool, eh? I just hope no one will risk repeating my prank."

Sasuke stifled a chuckle. So the moron had really vandalized the Mountain once! What a miracle that the Third had done nothing to him! Tsunade would have probably had him walled up in that rock.

"Oh, and one more thing!" Naruto chimed perkily. "I'll incorporate Sexy no Jutsu into the Academy educational programme, rename Hokage Tower into Uzumaki Tower and definitely buy Ichiraku's ramen stand and have the old man cook just for me! The latter has been my dream since I first dined there."

"Moron…" Sasuke exhaled softly, his voice tinted with an uncharacteristically warm humourous note.

Naruto slid down to lie next to him and watched as his face smoothed and his breathing became deep and even. Uchiha fell asleep. In Naruto's memory, he had never looked so peaceful. Perhaps everything he had been through was finally about to let him go.

Lulled by that feeble ghost of hope, Naruto dozed off too.

* * *

_He __puts the mask on and he is Tobi once more. He clings to that protective image; just like the mask hides his scarred face from the outside world, it hides his inner self. No one can read him. No one knows him: neither where he comes from, nor what he does when he is alone._

_He remembers a day on a beach __in the company of Deidara-senpai. He thrashed the sand, proclaimed it inferior to clay and laughed, his honey-yellow hair billowing in the wind around his face._

"_Tell me, Tobi," he said in a shrill voice, still breathless with uncontrollable laughter, "do you know who the god of destruction is?"_

"_Uhm… no."_

_Deidara's handmouth chewed clay energetically until a tiny bird came out. It flicked its wings and flitted __fussily in the air._

"_Man. Within every man there is spark of it, mmm. And most of the time one spark is enough," the bird went up in flames and exploded, "to kindle a fire greater than the light of stars!" _

_Deidara reveled in the heat of explosion. Tobi glanced at the still water: a storm was coming, and the Akatsuki duo was expecting the three-tailed beast to appear._

"_Thickhead," Deidara said, guessing that Tobi's thoughts were far from his artistic revelations. "You're hopeless, mmm."_

_He __walked decidedly towards the water. Tobi trotted after him, not too concerned with Deidara's contemptuous remark: his senpai's temper had always been short._

"_But you're still my senpai, right? Deidara-senpai is the best senpai!"_

_He removes the mask, and he is Obito again. He wonders if __his feelings for Deidara and Zetsu were real. He liked them both: Zetsu was kind to him and Deidara gave him the illusion of being needed if only as a scapegoat._

_He leans closer to the river surface, grasps a handful of clear, cool water and splashes it into his face. He sweeps his fingers over his scars, just to feel they are still there. They bind him to reality, giving him purpose. He knows what he is thanks to those scars. _

_He gets up and continues walking. He knows he is being pursued. And he knows that he must lead his pursuers to the final point of destination where the battle will take place. He is – and has always been – only a weapon. He never had a say in this case. _

_Alien though__ts twist and turn in his head. He tries to see the bigger picture, other than the trivial feud started by the kinsmen of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. But no matter how hard he tries, he's just a pawn in this game and so are they. Now the entire village shall pay for the crimes of its founding fathers._

_Obito__ writes a short message on a scrap of paper and sticks it to a tree with a kunai. When later Kakashi finds it, he knows the battle is predetermined and inevitable. And with a heavy heart he turns back to collect his team and go to war._

_Obito reaches the point of destination. Somewhere along the way the last spark of him is consumed by Madara. Finally there is nothing left but darkness._

_The message says:_

'_Fifty-fifty.'_

* * *

Naruto woke up to a familiar feeling of loneliness. His hands grew cold; he balled them into fists and opened his eyes with a sense of urgency to find himself sprawled on the old tatami alone, a threadbare blanket thrown carelessly over his lower body.

He sprang up and stormed out of the room. His heart skipped a beat when he dashed into the kitchen: Sasuke was having breakfast at the table and Sakura hovered near the fridge.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she greeted him, smiling. "You all right?"

Naruto swallowed nervously. Sasuke squinted up at him, twisting the corners of his lips in a semblance of a smile as well. That was enough to make Naruto's worries go away.

"M'fine," he answered, stuffing a small sandwich into his mouth.

Sakura wrinkled her nose, but then laughed. "Don't we three look like a family?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. The youth _hmphed_ indifferently, but Naruto could tell he agreed. Two brothers and a responsible, caring, a bit motherly sister. The thought looked more than appealing. For a moment Naruto forgot they were having breakfast in the lair of the recently slain enemy. It was an ordinary kitchen, filled with warm scents of food, the clatter of cutlery, small grunts and incoherent chuckles.

"Any news from Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked when the breakfast was over.

"He sent a message through one of the dogs. Says he'll be meeting us at the rendezvous point."

Sasuke rose wordlessly and vanished into the dim hall. His footsteps echoed in the fragrant darkness and died down as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Naruto stiffened as Sakura laid her warm hand on his shoulder.

"I get this all the time."

"What?"

"This feeling." She drilled the sliding kitchen door with a hard look. "That one day we'll wake up and he'll be gone again. I was the first one to see him go, after all."

"Yeah…" Naruto uttered thoughtfully. Three long years ago. Dammit. "That you were."

It took them less than half an hour to pack their belongings and set out for the rendezvous. Kakashi appointed the meeting at the fork-road where three dusty yellow paths met in perfect symmetry. The sun was high above the skyline when Team Seven arrived.

"Didn't he say exactly when we were to meet?" Naruto asked, skimming through the bushes.

Sakura shrugged. "I kind of assumed he would already be here."

By the time the sun rolled down and faded, leaving a generous splatter of crimson over the dim blue sky, Naruto had already inspected every inch of the closest area. He wondered if he was the only one getting a déjà vu. Kakashi had a knack for coming at twelve if the meeting was scheduled at six.

He appeared when the last light of sunset died out, greeting the team with an overly enthusiastic 'Yo!' The three responded with stern looks.

"Sorry, guys, I was just…"

"Fighting off a horde of starved toads?" Naruto ventured.

"Lost on the road of life?" Sakura snorted gloomily. Sasuke added a grim "Hn".

"Well, it's too late anyway," Kakashi said evasively. "So we'd better make a halt for the night." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Catching his look, Kakashi added gravely. "I'm not trying to let him get away if that's what you're thinking. And he is not willing to. He's waiting for us. A night of good sleep would only play to our advantage."

They camped in the clearing not far from the fork-road. The morning peace gave way to restlessness which later became depression. Uneasiness churned in Naruto's stomach. It was possibly their last night together as a team. He watched Sakura's face tinted with soft glares of fire and remembered her words. _'…one day we'll wake up and he'll be gone again.'_ Just like that.

His gaze drifted to Sasuke. He could never keep his eyes off Sasuke for too long. At least not when he was thinking about him.

"Seems like we all got more than we bargained for," Kakashi mused out loud.

Sasuke caught Naruto looking. For a moment his hands, undoing the buckles of the sleeping bag, stopped moving; then he focused on his work again. Naruto pursed his lips and crawled into his bedroll. The nights were getting colder with each passing day. He curled up beneath the cover and tried to focus on something nice to keep him from going back to dismal thoughts. Dreaming of an extra-large bowl of miso-ramen, he finally fell into a restive sleep.

* * *

Kakashi had always secretly loved these halts in the middle of nowhere. Always the patient one, he knew how to wait and valued good rest over meaningless hurry.

He watched the sparks flare over the circle of ash and couldn't help but feel thirteen again – and there was his team with him. A mop of yellow hair and a broad grin – that was the sensei. A girl with a sweet smile and eyes full of shy trust – Rin. Dark eyes and stubbornly pursed lips – Obito. And him by the fire, ever vigilant, ever silent. Useless smartass!

Kakashi gritted his teeth. Memories of the day flooded his mind once again. He ran, and ran, and ran – but couldn't catch up with Obito. He lost him completely on a ravine where a single tree stood tall amidst the swaying grass. A kunai was sticking out of the bark.

"It's like he vanished from here," his dog had said.

Kakashi had nodded and dismissed him to round the team. As soon as the summons left him, he approached the tree and brushed his fingers upon the piece of paper the kunai was holding.

"Obito," he had whispered. "You're such an idiot."

The note covered a small hollow in the trunk. Kakashi reached inside and raked out a small syringe wrapped up in a piece of paper with a roughly sketched seal. The subjugation jutsu. Obito's last present before they had to face Madara.

Kakashi knew why after so many years he was suddenly blind to who the people around him were, seeing only ghosts of old. He was seeing them through Obito's eyes.

"So he's the sensei's kid?" Obito had asked, watching Naruto from the distance. Only yesterday; yet it seemed like a lifetime ago. "Does he know?" Kakashi flashed him an eloquent look. Embarrassed, Obito pursed his lips. "Ah, right. He knows. How did he take it?"

"Surprisingly calm." Kakashi hemmed thoughtfully. "You know, he used to be so loud. A nice kid, with a proper mindset if I might say, but so… _loud_." Obito snorted, knowing full well who that must have reminded Kakashi of. "And now that I look at him, I just keep seeing the Fourth. In every way."

Kakashi sighed. What had Obito answered to that? Ah, yes, he had laughed suddenly and nudged him with his elbow and said, "Gosh, you've become such a wuss!" He couldn't hold back a smile at that memory.

"What are you thinking?" Sakura asked. Snapping out of his memories, Kakashi spared her a glance. How long had she been watching him?

"Some things you shouldn't be thinking before going to sleep," Kakashi chuckled.

And really, that was that. He forced his mind empty of everything, lay back and told himself he needed to sleep. He had already made all the necessary choices.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes the moment the sound of conversation died down and lay still for a while. He knew by the silence that muffled the clearing up that exhaustion prevailed (or maybe it was fatalism) and everyone fell asleep without even bothering to put anybody on watch.

Sasuke looked around, then crept quietly closer to Naruto and placed himself beside him. His hand hovered coyly over the youth's shoulder, the pads of his fingers barely brushing the thick material of the bedroll cover. Naruto snorted softly in his sleep.

Sasuke's hand slid beneath the cover. He found Naruto's hand and laced his fingers through his own, pressing himself gently against Naruto. The blond stirred, but didn't wake up.

It was dark within his mind. The sound of dripping water disturbed the stagnant silence. Sasuke pushed forward, right to the bars, and peeked carefully through them before calling out:

"Fox!"

Red eyes flared in the dark.

"Uchiha Sasuke," a gruff voice responded. "You came alone. I'm impressed."

The Demon's imposing shape came in sight. It snarled hungrily at Sasuke. The youth collected himself and said:

"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! I have a question to ask you. The deal with Madara that had you enslaved and doing his will… What did he do? I know it wasn't _just_ the Mangekyou Sharingan that he had used."

"Hmm… And why would you want to know?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Because I intend to strike the same deal."

The Nine-Tails' laughter thundered through the prison, shaking the walls and the bars. Water bubbled at Sasuke's feet.

"You're bold – and stupid. My answer would be no."

Against his better judgement, Sasuke gripped the bars and brought his face as close as he could.

"Tomorrow," he said, making sure to emphasize every word, "we fight Madara. No matter who wins, you lose. Madara will probably seal you away like the other Bijuu, or you'll stay imprisoned inside Naruto until he dies – and then you die with him. I know you gave up a lot of your energy to bring him back that last time. It was a one-shot miracle, it won't happen again, right? That deal is your only chance. Don't you have any pride? You are the wildest and the most fearsome of the Bijuu…"

The Fox chuckled harshly. The sound echoed in every corner of Sasuke's body. His nerves tingled.

"How's the hand, little human?" the Kyuubi asked, sweeping its hot tongue over Sasuke's fingers, wrapped around the bars.

The youth withdrew, his skin prickling with ghastly sensations.

"Now, what do you have to offer me?" the Fox smirked. "You're not as smooth a talker as you believe, Uchiha kid."

Sasuke gulped down nervously. His skin burnt with sweat; he balled his fists and said in a low, deadpan voice:

"Freedom."

"You? Set me free?" the Fox growled. Another burst of laughter followed. "You will kill the kit." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but the Demon cut him off ruthlessly: "You are going to tell me you do not care. I say you do. You humans are extremely dependent on your measly emotions."

Its muzzle hovered so close to the bars that his burning eyes seemed huge as twin bloody suns. Sasuke huddled up; the air and the water suddenly grew chilly.

"I care," he confessed reluctantly. "But there are other things, and they are more important than this."

The words, stolen from the lips of somebody else, came out hoarse and strained. Sasuke's jaw hardened. He found himself captivated by the malicious look in the Demon's eyes. He could stare at them forever, but that might as well have been his demise.

"Feed me a sinner's soul," the Kyuubi said all of a sudden. "And your blood. Our contracts are simple. I am a demon of destruction, I thrive on human sins. Sustain me, and I'm yours."

Sasuke smiled darkly.

"You'll have a soul." His voice acquired a dark shade to it. "The best I can afford."

He spun around, intending to leave, and his eyes snapped open as he struggled to breathe, shaken by the conversation – and even moreso, by the fact that he had enough strength to conduct it. The deal with the Kyuubi… He inhaled deeply, trying not to look at Naruto. His hand still covered Naruto's hand. The warmth of his skin scorched him. Naruto's breathing was even and deep; air circulated through his entire body, reverberating through Sasuke as well. He tried to breathe in tune, closing his eyes and giving himself away completely.

Somewhere along the way he became aware that Naruto had rolled around and was staring at him. There was no particular expression in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed Sasuke, a gentle engagement of their mouths in a series of simple, stroking movements. Like a brush traveling along smooth paper, outlining inscriptions.

Sasuke took a deep breath and broke the kiss off. Without looking back he returned to his sleeping place. Naruto's head connected with the pillow; wide open eyes stared at the dark sky, unblinking.

* * *

The morning was a beautiful one, raining down the showers of golden sunlight and smelling sweetly with the pungency of grass and late flowers.

Team Kakashi made their way along a broad road framed with weed, its yellowish canvas strewn with undergrowth here and there and lined thickly with traces of wagon wheels. The ninja kept up the regular human pace, not bothering to rush the depressive prelude of the fight that awaited them. Somehow despite their numerous missions and glorious victories, this battle seemed as terrifying as their first had seemed – they had been clumsy and inexperienced back then and today, three years later, they suddenly felt weak again.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that victory wouldn't change much. If they won, they would stay alive but lose each other again. If they lost, they would die.

Lost in these thoughts, Sakura failed to notice when her companions had come to a halt. Bewildered, she whisked a lose strand off her forehead and asked:

"Why did we stop?"

Kakashi parted from the group, hands in his pockets, and stood in front of her, radiating concern. She disliked this from the start.

"We decided that it would be better if you stayed behind."

Sakura gaped at him.

"Wha-at? WHY!? Because I'm weaker than you? I'm not just a _woman_, I'm a kunoichi, dammit! I can stand up for myself! Maybe I'm not as cool as you three, but I'm certainly not a damsel in distress! I don't need to be watched over!"

"Sakura," Kakashi protested impatiently. "This has nothing to do with your gender–."

"Well, then what?" she fumed. She couldn't believe he was brushing her off now. "What happened to 'teamwork'? 'Family'?" Her gaze slid past Kakashi desperately. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Tell him!.."

There was an awkward pause before Naruto murmured, tripping: "Ehm… you see, Sakura-chan… we kinda agree with Kakashi-sensei."

Petrified, Sakura stared at her three teammates. _She was already losing them_ – and the battle hadn't even started! Prickly tears welled up in her eyes. She was a little girl again, begging her unrequited love not to leave her – only there were three of them now. They were strong, tough, unbreakable, and she was so willing to believe that.

Kakashi pointed at the narrow track that deviated from the main one and disappeared in the thick field of grass.

"There's a small city down that road. You'll reach it in twenty minutes top. Wait for us there. If we don't come by tomorrow, contact Hokage-sama. You are a medic-nin above all else, Sakura. We might need your help and we can't afford to lose you."

There was something in his voice that made her want to ask: 'You can't afford to lose me… or _you_, _just you_ can't?' Wishful thinking, she decided. He placed a hand on her shoulder, patting it coolly.

"No," she said stubbornly. "You're not cutting me down. I can't leave you! If you need me, you'll need me on the spot. What if you're–?"

"Fine," Kakashi sighed. For a second she thought he had changed his mind. "I'm still your superior. So that's an order."

He squeezed her shoulder for the last time and turned his back on her. She knew – she _wanted_ to know – that if this mission were not particularly dangerous, if it were not _special_, if he did not care _so inadmissibly much_, he would have let her stay.

Naruto came up. She hugged him tight, her cheek brushing his for a fraction of a second. He gave her his trademark grin, accompanied with some cheesy heroic thing that made her weak in the knees.

She watched her teammates walk away, their backs straight and proud, and she felt she was going to collapse. All of a sudden Sasuke turned back, marched up to her and, grabbing her by the shoulders, planted an awkward kiss upon her forehead.

"They'll come back," he whispered flatly before rejoining the team again.

Sakura watched them until they vanished out of sight, biting her lips not to cry. She trusted them enough to keep each other safe. Or maybe she had become good at deceiving herself.

* * *

One teammate fewer, Kakashi's squad made it to the point of destination by mid-afternoon. The sun was high in the sky; soft rumbling of the waterfall overpowered any other sound.

With a mixed feeling of resentment and irritation Naruto realized he was afraid.

The feeling intensified as playful sunbeams glided upon two majestic statues, carved into the rock. The faces of the warriors opposing each other remained wise and passive – just like that horrible day three years ago. It was the same stately high water that had witnessed Naruto's greatest defeat. He balled his fists and glanced nervously at Sasuke.

Uchiha never showed any indication that this place affected him the same way. Kakashi hummed thoughtfully before taking a cheerful stroll. Getting a grip, Naruto followed his teammates into the Valley of the End.


	18. Aller et Retour

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ The final battle begins! 'He is Itachi now. He is the touchstone.' Sasuke/Naruto Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Antilamentation_ by Dorianne Laux.

**A/N**: I've decided to incorporate more canon details in here since clearly I have no imagination (and because I love Itachi too much, deal with it, muhahah!). Hence, SPOILERS beyond 394. I'm sorry for not updating for so long, but it's been real hell at work these past weeks. I hope you're still reading this! XD

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**Aller et Retour**

_Regret none of it, not one_

_of the wasted days you wanted to know nothing,_

_when the lights from the carnival rides_

_were the only stars you believed in, loving them_

_for their uselessness, not wanting to be saved._

It was quiet and peaceful here, almost as if no bloodshed had ever stained these rocks. Yet the silence that hung like an unseen canopy over the vale had a sinister touch to it. With each step, accompanied by the shy crackling sound of crumbling rock, Naruto cast away a ghost. His father, Jiraiya, Iruka-sensei, his fellow villagers, Gaara, Haku, Granny Tsunade – everyone, dead or alive, had to go. He was going to face this alone, so that in the end, when he would have won, he could go back to breathing and living like he used to.

Kakashi balled his fists.

"We stick to the plan," he whispered. Naruto nodded gravely. It was no big secret that the plan was mostly _to improvise_.

They halted on top of one of the heads protruding from the rock. Naruto looked down and recognized Madara's face.

"Hey, guys!" a muffled voice reached them. "You made it just in time."

"You don't have to pretend anymore, Madara-san," Kakashi answered in a flat, civil voice, lifting his headband and turning towards Tobi who was standing opposite them atop the Shodai's head.

"What? Don't wanna play with me anymore?" the voice broke. "Kakashi… I'm disappointed."

Kakashi shot forth, agile and aggressive like a wild animal. Naruto tensed. It was not the time yet. By a mutual agreement, the two of them stayed behind, watching as the third one fought. The opponents closed the distance between each other, moving at the speed that could barely be registered by a non-Sharingan eye. Kakashi kicked, aiming to stop the other man's run, missed and had to stop himself before he fell off the rock. He glided over the rough surface of the statue, squatted and produced the shrurikens just in time to fling them at Madara who halted during the turn a few paces away. Madara threw his hand up. The projectiles rebounded and rained back on Kakashi.

Sasuke's jaw hardened. He watched the fight calmly, but his posture resembled that of a cat on the hunt. Waiting for the prey to come closer. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Kakashi's hands moved, forming the seals effortlessly. A wall of water stood behind him, the buzzing noise of waterfall suddenly growing louder, crushing the silence around them. The water streamed fluidly towards Madara, closing in on him and shaping a sphere.

Sasuke activated the Sharingan.

A barrage of kunai flew through the water, splitting the sphere open. Madara's silhouette appeared briefly behind the sparkling fountains. Kakashi pulled back with his chakra, and the ice-cold heavy weight crashed upon his opponent.

"What are you, trying to kill me?" Madara laughed.

"How did you know?"

Sasuke jumped up, a number of shuriken stars flickering between his fingers. To his right he heard Naruto's battle cry as tens of kage bunshins jumped energetically around Madara. Unable to use the Mangekyou (which he was clearly saving for later), Uchiha had to duck and charge at all the clones at once.

Sasuke flung the shurikens at him. Resilient strings, tied to the weaponry, sparkled in the sun. As soon as they wrapped around Madara's body, Sasuke fired Ryuka no Jutsu at him; rivulets of flame streamed along the threads, charging towards the captive. Madara flicked a kunai that had been hidden in his sleeve and cut through the strings before the fire scorched him. He sent a couple of shurikens back at Sasuke like a boomerang. One of them, burdened with a piece of paper that looked like an exploding tag, returned to wrap around Madara's wrist; a silvery string stretched between the two Uchihas, connecting them.

Naruto attacked. Madara spun around, tugging Sasuke along as he was still holding on to the string, pulling it persistently. The youth skidded a few feet, standing firmly on the ground. Naruto ducked to avoid Kakashi's strike from behind. Madara's eye grew wider as he began to grasp the enemies' plan.

"Chidori!"

Currents of electricity swept along the string. Sasuke let go of the shuriken; it bounced back forcefully, wrapping a string that had turned into a stinging, electrified loop, around Madara's upper body. Electricity hit through the water that soaked the Akatsuki cloak. Behind the mask, Madara screamed.

Blue sparks showered over him. As soon as the water and the electricity had dissipated, Kakashi threw his hand forth, a syringe clutched in it, drove the needle into the enemy's neck and pushed the piston. The paper burst in flames, and a seal burned on the ground. Madara started falling; Kakashi caught him and held him carefully and lowered him upon the gleaming seal.

"Is he–?" Naruto began asking. Kakashi gestured at him to be patient.

His hand hovered uncertainly over the mask. But no; if the medicine hadn't worked, he didn't want to see Madara's smirk on Obito's face. He remembered Obito's clumsy scribbling: 'Fifty-fifty'.

The man moved. Took a shaky inhale, coughed and breathed in again.

"Kakashi," he whispered in a weak voice. "Why…"

Naruto's lips trembled as the youth attempted to smile. Could it really be–?

"Stand back!" Sasuke cried out. At the same time the Akatsuki continued his question:

"…are you so gullible?"

The rock beneath Kakashi twisted and spread open. He fell through, trying, as he sped down, to grasp at any protrusions from the walls of the tunnel – but there were none. There was a strange gurgling noise beneath him; he realized with a start it was water rising through the canal within the statue to consume him.

Above him, Madara laughed contentedly.

"I haven't felt so free for a long time! And here I was afraid that my plan wouldn't work."

"What plan?" Naruto demanded as he lunged to attack.

"That kid Kabuto," Madara scoffed. "I knew he couldn't kill anyone of you. But he could take on Sasuke-kun while I would have dealt with you and Kakashi. I knew Kakashi would try and use this medicine even if there was less than a fifty-per cent chance to preserve Obito. The fool had spoilt all the fun by leaving. Lucky for me, Kakashi did exactly what I had hoped he would do."

'We killed him,' Naruto thought numbly.

Inside the statue Kakashi formed the seals to summon a gust of wind. It slowed the rise of water and pushed him up. He felt the rock shatter around him as he erupted from beneath it, turned a somersault in the air and landed next to Sasuke, catching his breath. The mask clung heavily to his face.

Sasuke exhaled a wave of fire just in time to prevent Madara from charging at Kakashi, then glanced at him briefly. Kakashi nodded curtly.

The flames cleared away. Behind them, only the furrowed rock remained. A few Naruto copies scrambled to their feet and grinned. There was a movement to their right. Kakashi lunged forth. The clones scattered about; a few of them vanished, having been struck.

Kakashi and Madara engaged in a fervent battle, sweeping jutsu after jutsu against each other. Water jetted from the hole in the statue. Between the two statues the after-effects of ninjutsu formed a stuffy sediment; the air around it felt cold and moist.

"I must admit you have been an impressive opponent, Kakashi," Madara said. "But you are about to make a mistake and I am about to use it to my advantage."

This comment had almost stopped Kakashi from executing another attack. Madara could be implying that his goal was wrong… or simply trying to distract him. Kakashi bounced off the rock and fell upon his opponent – and the world around him began to crumble.

'What the–?'

A wave of heat cut through his chest and split his chakra apart. He doubled over, tripping as he turned back. Electric fire blazed in his hand, and as he was losing his consciousness rapidly, he screamed: "Raikiri!" – and kicked off with his foot to rise in the air, sending jolts towards Madara.

Then he was falling, black fire roaring around his body. he plunged into the water, cutting the surface of the river apart with his weight. Black and blue specks danced over the water as it closed in above him.

"NO!!" Naruto's shrill outcry thundered.

He leapt down, sticking to the steep wall of the mountain with his heels and preparing to jump lower. His gaze roved wildly over the river, struggling to see any hint of where Kakashi might be.

Madara swept past him like a hurricane, hit him and forced him upwards. Naruto collapsed at Sasuke's feet, the strength of the blow breaking the ground into fragments. For a moment everything was quiet. Madara reappeared in front of his remaining opponents and stood still.

Sasuke squared his shoulders and glared at him dangerously. The sound of crumbling rock and the silky splashes of water were the only thing that disrupted the silence.

"Let's get it over with," Sasuke said, preparing to strike.

To his confusion, Madara did not resume the battle stance. He reached solemnly for the mask and removed it, revealing the now painfully familiar face of Uchiha Obito. A faint flash of a smile crossed his lips.

"I'm not in a hurry actually. On the contrary, I do believe we still have a few unresolved matters between us. And I think I should get to the point before your patience runs out. There's something I want to tell you."

"Too bad," Sasuke said listlessly. "There's nothing I want to hear from you."

But he didn't move. Madara inclined his head slightly, and a full-fledged smile blossomed on his lips.

"Not even the truth about your beloved brother?"

Sasuke frowned and waited for him to continue. Madara's single eye gleamed almost predatorily.

"Tell me, Sasuke, have you ever wondered why you even have the eyes that you do? By rights, you shouldn't while your best friend is still alive." He gestured quizzically at the pile of rubble that poured down as Naruto climbed from underneath it, coughed and moved to stand beside Sasuke, flashing their opponent an expressive glare. "Last time I checked, apparent death wasn't enough. Not even such a lengthy one."

Instinct told Sasuke he should not be listening to it. Yet he stood stock-still, eyeing Madara suspiciously and unwittingly wanting him to go on.

"So if it's not a gift from Naruto-kun," the Akatsuki drawled, "then maybe we should thank someone closer to home?"

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked, his throat suddenly dry.

"Your brother. He did something to you just before he died." Madara took a step forward. "Something like this."

His hand shot up in a blink of an eye, and he poked Sasuke in the forehead just like Itachi used to do. Taken by surprise, Sasuke stepped back abruptly, his heart pounding.

Next to him, Naruto snarled: "We don't have time for these games!" and dashed towards Madara. Sasuke forestalled his attack and held his hand out in front of him to block his way. His eyes never left Madara's face.

"What do you know?"

"Somehow Itachi came up with a technique that allowed him to transfer his dojutsu into you. It was a fail-safe, win-win plan. He thought he secured your position, and I benefited from getting your eyes once you were dead. The Mangekyou Sharingan was supposed to stay sealed in your eyes before some fateful event would activate it. So in some sense Naruto-kun did serve as a trigger."

"What the fuck are you blabbering about!?" Naruto growled.

Sasuke kept staring at Madara with glazed eyes. His words slowly settled in his mind, stirring up his doubts – but he was no fool to swallow the bait so easily. Why would Itachi do that?

"You still don't get it, do you?" Madara asked impatiently. "Your brother was one of the 'good guys'! A real hero! Everything he did, he did to preserve peace in the Fire Country, to prevent the breakout of the Fourth Ninja War – and to protect his dear little brother."

The last words delivered an excruciating blow. Sharp pain nested in Sasuke chest, threatening to explode. Naruto pursed his whitened lips.

Smitten, Sasuke asked in a flat voice:

"Why should I believe you?"

Madara sighed playfully. "Ah, I'll probably regret wasting the remains of my power on this, but what the hell. You deserve the truth. I hope to hear a thank-you from you once this is over."

Sasuke blinked. Before he knew it, a genjutsu unfolded before his eyes. He found himself standing in a clearing in the forest outside the Leaf Village. Ancient trees stood in a tall, protective round formation, enclosing the clearing. He gasped involuntarily when a shadow landed in front of him. It was a boy with a sleek black pony tail, clad in plain dark clothes with an Uchiha fan embroidered at the back of his shirt.

Sasuke's lips formed a name noiselessly, "Itachi…"

"I was expecting you," a voice came.

Both Sasuke and Itachi looked up to see a masked man standing by the twin trees, burdened with thick leafage. It was the same lanky, gentle body, but his hair looked longer, hanging loose over his shoulders in messy strands, and his mask was white with dizzying black lines rippling across its surface.

"So you live," Itachi said in a low voice. Sasuke shivered: it was the same voice he had heard on the night of the massacre, cold, lifeless, sharp as a knife.

"Long have I awaited this opportunity," Madara said, half-smiling beneath the mask; the irony made his tone rich and expressive, "to look upon the prodigy of my bloodline. One by one they all shall fall before you. They are not worthy. But are you?"

"Uchiha Madara," Itachi spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the mask as if trying to see through it.

Suddenly he bolted, turned a somersault in the air and crashed a handful of swift attacks down on Madara. The older Uchiha parried just as speedily. The fight progressed so rapidly that Sasuke barely had time to follow it. By the time he gathered his senses, Itachi had already taken the same position as before and Madara said:

"Not a drop of sweat. I'm impressed. Now what do you want?"

Itachi's composure didn't change at first sight, though Sasuke could tell he relaxed a bit.

"Help," he said evenly.

"With what?"

"The Uchiha clan has outlived itself. It must be annihilated. I am on a mission. The Elders of the village are willing to conclude an armistice with you. You are a rogue, an outcast, you have been driven out and forgotten by the men you had led to power. You must be desperate for some justice. I know what you're plotting. But you can't act yet. You're too weak in this new body of yours. And I'm too weak in mine."

Madara snorted. He closed the distance between them in a blink of an eye; his fingers constricted around Itachi's throat. The next moment the boy's body melted down in his grasp. Madara turned round. Sasuke glanced at Itachi's resolute face and found himself unable to look away.

"And how can a brat like you help me?" Madara asked.

"I'm the best. You've never turned your back on the best." Itachi folded his arms across his chest and looked away. "I don't care what you want, be it glory, justice or to restore your honour. Your motives are truly no concern of mine. Anyway, you benefit from it more than I do. I just don't want another war to happen."

He sensed a kunai flung at him before he saw it. He threw his hand up to intercept it and looked up at Madara. His countenance remained flawless. Sasuke shivered at how mannequin-like his brother looked.

Madara approached him and leaned in to whisper in a mockingly compassionate voice:

"You're a perfect tool. Do you even know how you will feel after you will have done the job?"

Itachi remained silent. Struggling to breathe past the stinging pain in his throat, Sasuke fell on his knees beside him and looked at him like he wanted to have every feature of his static face imprinted in his memory. _This_ face, not the terrible visage of a cruel killer he had seen that night.

Everything about Itachi was perfect and well-fitted into the bigger picture: smooth alabaster forehead, a slight crease just above the nosebridge, indicating he was in thought, the lines on his face slightly paler than Sasuke remembered them, sleek bangs, stark black against the fair skin… And the only thing that disrupted the carefully constructed image were his eyes.

At that moment Sasuke knew that Madara was not lying. Such heartwrenching sincerity could not be forged. He looked deep into the blazing Sharingan of his brother and believed it with fierce passion that frightened him to death.

"That is not all, I imagine. What else will you ask of me?" Madara demanded.

Itachi's eyes went blank. Suffering, raw and infinite just a second ago, was replaced with determination.

"Just one thing: do not harm a single citizen of Konoha that is not Uchiha." With so much as a lazy flick of his hand he darted the kunai back at its owner. It bore forcefully into the ground just before Madara. "Not a soul."

Sasuke snapped out of the genjutsu and blinked his eyes helplessly. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe. Naruto twisted his head in sheer exasperation.

"What is it? What did he show you? What? What!?"

"You know I have no reason to lie to you," Madara said smoothly. The last words were muffled by Naruto's annoyed outcry, "Oh, shut up!"

Sasuke found himself unable to move. What kept him glued to the spot were not the words, not what he had seen – but the feelings the memory had caused. He knew he couldn't forget the look in his brother's eyes even if he tried.

The revelations spilled into him like a powerful stream as Madara continued talking. To stop the war… to protect him… The Uchiha clan were traitors, planned a revolt… Itachi was a double agent…

Naruto turned to Sasuke and stared at him with his innocent blue eyes.

"You don't believe that, do you?" he asked in a trembling voice. Sasuke remained motionless, barely breathing, and looked past him to nowhere. "Oh, come on! Next thing we know Orochimaru will be a good guy! Sasuke, please!"

"Sasuke knows it's true," Madara protested softly. His voice barely reached Sasuke.

Everything mixed in a terrible jumble of words in the wind, fragments of memories and the purest horror of this revelation: out of all Itachi's lies, this was the most brutal. Sasuke had learnt to live with hate; now he would have to learn to live with guilt.

"It's not your fault!" Naruto persisted. He grasped Sasuke's shoulders fiercely, trying to attract his attention. Consumed by his mind-numbing reverie, Sasuke wouldn't react. "You didn't know. Look at me! Sasuke, look at me, please! None of this is your fault. If he wanted you to know, he would have told you. He must have had his reasons to keep you in the dark."

Drowning in the harsh sound of his own breathing, Sasuke felt his lips move and squeezed out:

"…killed him…"

He sounded so frail… Naruto bit his lips in desperation.

"You did not! It was _not_ your fault!"

"Truth hurts, but it's the truth," Madara drawled.

Naruto turned round and spat furiously:

"Shut up! You Uchihas are a foul, lying, loathesome, _evil_ lot of mindfuckers! No word of yours can be trusted! What kind of a method is that: to prevent a war by slaughering an entire clan!? Sasuke has suffered enough because of you and the likes of you! I won't let him suffer again!"

Sasuke's mind drifted slowly to Naruto, but he barely registered the words. He ended up moving backwards slowly until his back connected with a wall of rock, raised by one of ninjutsu. His knees wobbled. Naruto kept talking, but his words passed unnoticed by Sasuke. His head was full of memories that passed by like a warm wind, leaving the sediment of bitterness and regret behind.

Liar…

The anger swelled, threatening to tear him apart.

Liar!

LIAR!!

Every word, every promise, every smile… Sasuke remembered them all, a seal suddenly torn away from his memory.

"You bastard!" Naruto shrieked and advanced to attack Madara. The ground beneath them shook.

Sasuke stared blankly into the emptiness before his eyes. Somewhere on the periphery of his sight the battle was raging. He couldn't force himself to get up; he just kept sinking into the tasteless, soundless darkness, full of memories.

The way Itachi used to smile… The way he used to laugh… The way he'd poke Sasuke in the forehead, and tell him bedtime stories about great ninja of the past, and ditch homework to play with him.

_You c__ould only fool yourself for so long._

Years of dizzying hatred, compressed into a few seconds of triumph over the dying body of his fallen brother, turned to ash. Sasuke fell on his knees, buried his face in his hands and gave himself over to tremour.

He relived the massacre over and over again, forcing himself to feel what Itachi must have felt. It doubled him over with sickness; it burnt his eyes, heavy with tears that refused to be shed; and it spilled forth from his mouth in a guttural moan, twisting his insides.

He saw his ghosts again.

…himself, half-lying on the cold porch, staring anxiously at the shady outlines of trees.

"Sasuke…" a hushed voice came. The boy shifted, then jumped up, the last traces of sleepiness erased, and rushed to hug his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you!"

A soft smile flashed on Itachi's lips. Sasuke almost missed it in the shimmering dark. It disappeared, having been replaced by a slight frown. Itachi told him to go back to bed and lowered himself wearily on the porch. His vest was covered in dark stains that glimmered like black oil in the faint starlight. Sasuke hesitated and sat down next to him.

"I don't want to sleep," he lied.

For a while both brothers were silent.

"How's school?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Okay. A little boring 'cause I'm like… the top there." Sasuke couldn't help but notice he was blushing; it sounded an awful lot like bragging, and it was the last thing he wanted to do in front of his brother. "But these girls, you know, they're really scary! They just stare at me all the time like I have three heads or something! I don't like the girls."

A soft coughing sound followed. Sasuke squinted and realized with a start his brother was laughing. Itachi raised his hand and patted Sasuke's hair.

"How's the mission?"

"Spare me."

Sasuke chuckled. It was a routine between them. He knew Itachi would never disclose any information on his assignments, but he would always ask, regardless. He reached out and touched one of the black stains reverently. It was blood.

"You know how Mom and Dad and the others are always expecting something from you?" he murmured. "No one ever expects anything from me. You… You're cool. I'm just cute and useless."

A steely edge appeared in Itachi's voice, even though his face softened somehow. "Don't say that! Hmm, you think I'm cool?"

Sasuke sneered at that. No way his big brother would not be cool!

"Mom and Dad were really happy the day they had you," Itachi continued softly. "Never seen them smiling like that."

"Really? And… you? Were you happy?"

The boy's cheeks flushed. He lowered his head and ended up staring at one of the bloodstains. Itachi brought his face closer; his forehead, protected by the headband, brushed Sasuke's forehead. The boy tensed, feeling the coolness of the metal against his skin.

"Of course I was. They finally stopped calling me cute."

Sasuke burst out laughing and pushed at his brother's elbow in fake resentment. Soon both brothers were laughing.

Ghosts were forever imprinted in his memory. He tried hard to cross them out, to forget the sound of Itachi's laughter because in his perfectly cold well-planned world Itachi didn't know how to laugh. He would kill until he would have fallen by the hand of a righteous avenger.

'_People live their lives by what they believe to be 'correct' and 'true'. That's how they define __'reality'. But what does it mean to be 'correct' or 'true'? Merely vague concepts… Their 'reality' may all be…'_

Sasuke wanted to scream. No, it was too big a lie, even for Itachi! He didn't want to live with the burden of this heritage.

'…_a mirage.'_

* * *

To the tune of the howling wind, and breaking rock, and singing water the battle continued. Naruto made sure to block every signal the red chakra was sending him, begging to be released. He could be strong enough without it.

"You thought you would just show him the error of his ways, and it will save him?" Madara scoffed. "How very Naruto-like! But he is not one of your poor caged birds! He's an Uchiha! We don't need salvation, we are above it!"

Naruto dodged another ninjutsu and landed on all fours, clawing at the ground with his deformed nails. His eyes blazed deep red with hate. The Fox was rushing about its cage, feeling that its time had almost come.

"Sasuke! Snap out of it now!" Naruto screamed, blocking Madara's attack. "Sasuke!"

"Tell me why you persist. You have already died because of him once. It takes two to form a bond, Naruto-kun. The other end of yours has long since been cut loose."

Madara's eye switched to the Mangekyou. Naruto screwed his eyes shut before the genjutsu hit him and fought blindly, yet no less ferociously. He gave in to his senses, heightened by desperation and the Kyuubi's chakra, and allowed them to lead the way.

"Sasuke!!"

"He can't hear you, Naruto! Even if he did, what would it change? Who are you but a container destined to hold power until the day comes to release it? He is no different than the rest of us. He only wants you for power."

Punch. Block. Kick. Naruto groaned throatily. He was afraid to admit it, but Madara's words were slowly getting to him.

A wave of fire washed over him. He fell out of step and tumbled on the ground.

'We never meant to face it alone,' he thought in despair. 'There should be three of us!' Sakura's smiling face flashed before his eyes; at least she was safe. 'How can I beat him alone? Ero-sennin was alone, and he fell. And if I die… If I'm not here anymore… What will happen to you, Sasuke? Will you become like him?'

Tears streamed down his cheeks. He clenched his jaws and began to get up.

* * *

'What is it? A genjutsu? Why can't I move?'

Sasuke sat still, afraid to look up at the world around him. All the sounds died down. The earth itself seemed to have stopped its dizzying rotation.

He remembered Itachi's merciless eyes and one teardrop he thought he had forgotten.

He remembered this barely recognizable man in a black cloak with red clouds who had rejected him like he hadn't mattered.

'Then make me matter!'

He remembered the cold, impassionate voice that delievered lie after lie.

He remembered the last instruction to keep Naruto close which he had blindly followed; was following still.

And the ghost. Not a figment of imagination. The ghost was, had always been, real. He was in the eyes.

_The eyes…_

Sasuke blinked. Then his brother was alive. Somewhere, somehow, in some odd form, Uchiha Itachi still lived. He would live until Sasuke's death. It seemed ironically bittersweet that in the end, in this warped way, Itachi had succeeded in achieving immortality.

Sasuke pushed his fingers down forcibly. He could see the sky over their tips – and a bleared figure not too far from him. The ghost. His only remaining ghost. The ghost of his eyes.

He said, _'__Any bond you'll make after me will be forever reminiscent of me.'_ Sasuke had to read the movement of his lips to figure out the words. But he remembered them clearly enough.

'_I will always be around.'_

Sasuke's lips trembled. He lowered his hands further, the sound of falling water returning him to reality bit by bit. He could see a small black-and-orange figure in the distance, swirling like a hurricane amidst the raging fire and water. Him. He was… he was Itachi now.

He was the touchstone.

Sasuke's knees were shaking as he got up. His body felt sore, but his fears were seeping away. He glanced briefly at the barely visible shadow to his right. He realized that 'I love you' was the only real thing he had ever heard from Itachi.

Slowly, he reached out for the Kusanagi.

In front of him Naruto collapsed on his knees as a rain of metal needles came crashing down on him.

Sasuke pushed upwards, flitted over the stage of the battle and landed before Naruto to shield him. He swung the katana and sent the needles back at their master. A gust of wind scattered them about.

"Don't get your hopes too high, moron!" Sasuke said smugly. "My body just moved on its own."

He couldn't hold back a smile. By the way Naruto breathed his name, he knew the youth was smiling, too.

Sasuke cocked his head slightly to get a glimpse of Naruto's astounded, yet nonetheless triumphant face.

"All right there, scaredy-cat?" they teased simultaneously. Naruto broke out laughing.

With a soft chuckle Sasuke held out his hand and helped him get up. A huge cut crossed his left cheek; specks of red chakra were dancing over it, trying to erase it.

Sasuke turned around, skidding over the damaged ground. He raised the katana and lunged at Madara as Naruto multiplied over and over again, and the clones joined the battle.

'Damn it! He's moving too fast!' Sasuke thought. Even his eyes were unable to register every move Madara made. At this point, he was glad to have Naruto with him.

A blade flickered somewhere very close to him. He spun around and shivered as he felt the steel graze his stomach, ripping through the shirt. Blood welled up on the split skin. Sasuke inhaled shakily.

Madara made a minor miscalculation, and the blade glided smoothly down, catching in the fabric of his weapon pouch for a moment. Shurikens and tightly rolled scrolls poured to the ground – and along with them, a stream of silver and lilac pebbles that he had almost forgotten about. Ino's ikebana. His newfound lucky charm.

The pebbles rolled beneath Madara's feet, causing him to lose his balance for an instant. It was enough. Sasuke performed the Body Flicker technique and ended up behind his back. Chidori streamed down the readied blade of the Kusanagi as he punged it into Madara's back, piercing the lung. The jolt exploded with bluish sparks, and the elder Uchiha screamed.

Sasuke relaxed for an instant. Before he could catch his breath, Naruto dashed toward him and cried out:

"Sasuke! I think he's gonna–."

And Madara disappeared. Chidori ran out, leaving Sasuke's hands to tremble with all the wasted energy. His mind was racing. Just what kind of a time/space technique was that? He hadn't formed any seals, hadn't moved at all.

"Sasuke!!"

In a flash Naruto was above him – and then knocked aside by a powerful blow. Sasuke darted aside, coughed as he felt warm drops of blood dribbling down his chin and gasped as his spine collided into the rock. Streams of Chidori blazed anew, reversed against their master, and Sasuke choked on the scream of pain that he found himself unable to release.

"Don't tell me you've had some kind of epiphany because I hate epiphanies!" Madara hissed in his ear, pressing him harder against the rock. "They screw up all the fun."

Sasuke looked down. His own sword was sticking out of his belly, holding him in place. It burnt him from the inside, but he couldn't shake Madara off. He wrapped his trembling fingers around the blade as his own Chidori jolted through his neurons.

From the corner of his eye Sasuke saw Naruto rising to his feet, fierce determination blazing in his eyes that were beginning to turn crimson.

'Oh no… It's too early!' Sasuke wanted to scream, but a painful whimper was all that came out of his mouth.

The new chakra that emanated from Naruto seemed to have caught Madara's attention as well. He chuckled and turned round to face his opponent.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. The idiot was going to ruin it all.

But then…

This was not the Kyuubi's chakra.


	19. Wind and Lightning

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 1 month after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ Every story has a beginning and an end. The showdown of the battle at the Valley of the End. Sasuke/Naruto. SPOILERS for the chapters up to 403. Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _About Friends_ by Brian Jones.

**A/N**: So, my darlings, we have arrived to the last chapter of the story. Personally I feel sad and relieved at the same time. There will be an epilogue too, but the main action ends here. Thank you soooo much for your beautiful reviews! You're the best. I hope this part won't disappoint you.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Wind and Lightning**

_The good thing about friends_

_is not having to finish sentences._

Minutes turned into hours as she sat on the edge of an oversized arm-chair in a small inn, rubbing her fingers nervously and trying hard not to look at the clock that was ticking somewhere to her left. How long had it been already? Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, rose and began pacing. A mug of tea stood on the table; she took it in her hands and inhaled the soft flowery scent of smoke in the dark. She remembered Sasuke's final kiss and Naruto's embrace and Kakashi's touch. She wanted it all back.

Strange sounds reached her through the motley tapestry of her thoughts. Sakura opened her eyes as she heard the sound of furniture being knocked down and someone panting and grunting.

"Somebody help!" a voice called.

Sakura walked up to the crowd, dazed. Whispers ran through the room: a shinobi had been badly wounded and had lost his team in the mountains. Blood stained the floorboards.

"Let me through!" Sakura demanded. "I'm a medic-nin."

The crowd shifted, and for a moment she could see a loose strand of silvery hair falling over the sculpted cheekbone. Damp skin glistened in the half light, smeared with blood and water. Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

The man grunted and turned his head.

It wasn't him.

It was not Kakashi.

Paralyzed, Sakura stared at his face, contorted with pain. The shinobi opened his eyes, ice-blue and so unfamiliar, and looked at her pleadingly.

"_Onee-chan_," someone from the crowd prodded.

Sakura knitted her eyebrows. Here was a man that needed saving. She stuck her hair behind her ears to keep it from obscuring the view and whispered resolutely under her breath:

"Yes."

* * *

"You're a funny kid," Madara stated as he tried to define the waves of chakra that Naruto radiated. "Truly unpredictable. One minute it's almost like fighting the First, the other–."

"What did he ever do to you?" Naruto growled, feeling the sharp tang of blood in his mouth. It was rising from inside him, and he had to grind his jaws together to keep himself from spitting it out. "Why do you hate him so much? Why do you hate the village you helped built so much?"

Madara's eye widened.

"Why do I hate Senju Hashirama?" he repeated quizzically. "Who are _you_ to ask me about that?"

"He was your friend! Am I right?"

"Friendship dies."

"Why?" Naruto questioned as the world around him began shaking. His heart, slamming so hard against his ribs that it threatened to burst out, still kept him grounded, but he was rapidly losing this final connection. "Why remember only the bad things? Sasuke here… tried to kill me so many times. Even succeeded once. But I… I _don't remember it_! All I remember is how he told me he wanted to fight me, and those were the first words of acknowledgement I got from him. I remember how he called me his precious person… and all those times he _could_ but _didn't_ kill me!"

Madara blinked. Good things? There had been nothing good between him and Hashirama. Simply mindless rivalry and hate. And yet…

Once or twice Hashirama had smiled at him. Once he had said he had been honoured to found a village together with the Uchiha clan. What had that been: flattery? or maybe?..

"You know what sucks about friends, Naruto?" Madara said. "They leave you!"

Naruto's world became dark and blurry. He felt this new chakra rising, gushing forth, and the blood that spilled from his mouth turned into raven feathers as he struggled to breathe past the flood. Madara struck. Naruto dodged and parried: a combination of moves he had never used or even known. A style of combat, foreign to him.

Sasuke lost his consciousness for a brief moment. When he opened his eyes, a familiar chakra washed all over him. He lifted his head and looked at the fighting shinobi. There was Naruto, still Naruto, untouched by the aura of the Kyuubi, but…

His eyes blazed red, not the red of the Bijuu, but the crimson of the Sharingan. The veil of illusion around him got thicker. Sasuke could almost see someone else in his stead. Raven feathers overshadowed the sun.

"Itachi…"

Sasuke gripped the blade tighter. It had entered the stone and stuck there, keeping the youth trapped. He started pulling, activating Orochimaru's seal as he strained his muscles harder. He had to get free before Naruto did anything irremediable.

"I should say I admire Itachi's farsight," Madara observed curiously. "Whatever places he used to store his power–!"

Naruto's bunshins looked even more solid, even more _Itachi_ than the youth himself. The one in the centre of the raven cloud, the one fighting Madara, the _real_ one looked transparent, his ghostly image taut over the black-and-orange carcass of flesh and bones and fabric.

He was choking on the blood that wouldn't stop coming. His chest hurt but he continued driving Madara to the edge of the cliff, and his eyes hurt, boiling with the power he was unable to wield.

Sasuke pulled the sword out and staggered towards the battlefield. His appearance bled back to normal. He cast the torn shirt off, feeling the wind on his burning skin. Everywhere he looked, he could see his brother's face.

He could see the channels of Naruto's chakra being overwhelmed by the alien energy. The youth continued fighting, but his cough was steadily getting worse. Inside his ribcage his heart was beating wildly, begging for the pressure to stop.

'He's gonna die,' Sasuke thought dimly. 'He'll die before he kills him.'

For a moment – a single moment out of all eternity of choices and doubts – Sasuke thought: what if Itachi could live… like that? What if that power had gone with Naruto through his death and numerous transformations into the Kyuubi just to keep Itachi alive?

Naruto sputtered. The power inside him that was eating him up was ready to explode. Tears streamed down Sasuke's cheeks. He couldn't do it. He couldn't _choose_.

Blood rolled heavily from Naruto's eyes and mouth. Sasuke couldn't tell how that power worked, but he felt it acutely – like needles tearing through his body, and he knew Madara felt the same way. Bit by bit the illusionary Sharingan and the sinister chakra were taking him apart – as well as Naruto.

Sasuke fell on his knees, trying to accumulate some chakra to heal the gut wound. It was skinning over slowly, delayed by the expense of chakra for the Sharingan. Sasuke could see the three chakras of Naruto's raging within their channels. The blond had probably been wasting a lot of his native chakra to keep the Nine-Tails at bay, that's why now his body would start giving out.

Sasuke squinted and activated the Mangekyou. That was the end of the line. His lips moved.

"Susano'o!"

He felt the power grow around him. He didn't have to turn around; he remembered the skeletal face that was now bound to protect him clearly. Naruto spun around, his red-black eyes growing wider, brightened by the faintest glint of understanding. Madara collapsed on the ground at Naruto's feet.

"Sa… suke…"

It was not Naruto's voice. Or rather, it was not just Naruto's voice. Sasuke could swear he heard two voices, breathing out his name at the same time.

The spirit delivered its final blow. The sword of Totsuka pierced the shadow around Naruto, momentarily paralyzing him. The bunshins vanished without a trace. Sasuke watched the final traces of Itachi disappear into the spiritual blade and could do no more. Tears dazed him.

Shaking, Madara got back up on his feet. Sasuke sprang forth, grasped the barely conscious Naruto and landed atop the opposite statue. A few exploding tags, flung in the direction, drowned in the shield of Susano'o.

"What did you–?" Naruto croaked as soon he found himself able to speak. "I was that close–."

"How?" was the only thing Sasuke cared about at the moment. He looked around, concentrating on the devastating sensation of Madara's presence – but the Akatsuki himself was nowhere in sight.

"Swallowed a crow…"

Sasuke looked back at Naruto. The blond was smiling. Blood stained his teeth, but already he looked much more alive than with Itachi's chakra dancing around him.

"What?" Sasuke asked, suddenly feeling stupid.

"I swallowed a crow," Naruto grinned smugly.

"You're an idiot!" Sasuke cut him off ruthlessly. "Stay down."

He got up and skimmed the area cautiously. He had no need to hide for the shield of Susano'o was still over him. Forming all the necessary seals rapidly, Sasuke sent a volley of fire into the sky. He could feel Madara, and that was enough.

Naruto shifted and pushed upwards, groaning quietly through clenched teeth. Two clones appeared beside him. He opened his palm and began moulding the Rasengan.

"I told you to stay down," Sasuke barked out.

"Oh yeah? So that you could hog the spotlight again? You wish, show-off!"

Electricity rippled through Sasuke's open palm. A vague smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. Naruto. Never going to change.

"Futon: Rasengan!" Naruto growled and charged at Madara who was but a vague shade beneath the waterfall so far from them now.

The Kirin crackled, taking the shape of a gigantic electric dragon. It snarled, opening its jaws wide, and thrashed through the air.

Naruto glided down the water and prepared to strike. Summoning a great stream of energy, Madara crashed the waterfall down on him and sprang back up on the rock. His lips curved into a triumphant smirk. Sasuke could hear nothing but the sound of lightning that felt alive and nimble in his hand.

'Read my mind,' Naruto mouthed. 'Read my mind, Sasuke.'

He bounced up and dashed towards Madara as soon as he felt his feet touch the ground. The Rasengan in his palm was changing its shape quickly. Sasuke's fingers closed up as the dragon surged forth, hissing and howling, and caught up in the madly spinning blades of the Rasenshuriken. Surges of wind and lightning exploded around Madara. Sasuke staggered back abruptly.

When the dust cleared up, he spotted a huge crater on the crown of Madara's statue's head. Half of the face had been wiped out and the ground behind the statue was burning. Sasuke looked back and saw Naruto struggling to get up. The hand he had used to create the Rasenshuriken was bloodied and damaged, but otherwise he seemed comparatively unharmed.

"That was… so awesome!" the blond exhaled. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We should do it again some other time!"

Sasuke jumped towards the crater. His wound had almost stopped bleeding; he breathed easier and the stinging in his eyes subsided. The final strike had torn down all the defences; Sasuke had to deactivate the Susano'o for fear of his chakra exploding in its channels because of the energy overload. He felt weaker now, but also calmer.

"I would there were no other time," Sasuke smirked and leaned to look down into the crater.

The body wasn't there.

Sasuke's breath hitched. He found himself turning around slowly only to see the sinister glint of the Sharingan in the gathering darkness.

"NARUTO!!"

The blond jumped aside, channeling the chakra to his feet to stick horizontally to the protruding rock. Sasuke gathered the remains of his energy to release a wave of fire that swept past Madara. The Akatsuki seemed to have sustained no major damage.

"Hey, kids!" he grinned maliciously at them. "Time to get serious."

Before Sasuke knew it he was hit with a genjutsu. He heard Naruto scream, and the sky went black. Hysterical laughter that was bottled up inside him shook his body. He felt numb. He couldn't get rid of this sensation, couldn't shake it off or breathe it out; that laughter broke out but no sound came.

Sasuke struggled to regain control of his senses. 'He is using Tsukuyomi on _me_?' It seemed ridiculous that Madara, knowing Sasuke's story full well, should resort to this jutsu now.

Yet Sasuke was giving in to it slowly. Visions crashed into his mind. Naruto was standing in front of him, his face obscured by the shadows falling from the blackened sky. Behind him, another face appeared. The older, the wiser, the sadder face. The man with mesmerizing red-and-black eyes…

'_We live in the world shaped by our beliefs.'_

…put his hand on Naruto's shoulder…

'_Tell me, Sasuke, what do you see with those eyes?'_

…and Sasuke knew: this was how they would remain to him, always a shadow of each other, chosen to guide him forth. Because he was Naruto's friend. Because he had been Itachi's brother.

A new light flickered in Sasuke's eyes.

"I don't believe it!" Madara laughed; his voice seemed weak at first, yet it grew stronger as delight prevailed. "You've got not one but two of them. You have your own Mangekyou Sharingan. Turns out someone's death has really come in handy! That's exactly the type of eyes I need."

'That's exactly the type of eyes you won't get,' Sasuke shot back mentally as he broke the genjutsu apart, tearing himself out of the shadowy realm of the Tsukuyomi.

Naruto glanced at him with glazed blue eyes. One look was enough to understand: Madara hadn't used anything on him. Hadn't made him scream. And that meant that Madara was…

_weak_.

Sasuke blinked. He felt rather than saw Naruto move and fling the last remaining shuriken at Madara.

Sasuke took a few ragged breaths. His throat was impossibly dry; he barely managed to swallow the lump that was coming up to his mouth.

Almost there.

Thick droplets of blood trickled down Madara's scarred cheek. The tomoe had almost faded, leaving his Sharingan mud-red and lifeless.

"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly. "I need you to release it."

The blond turned in his direction abruptly, goggling his eyes in sheer astonishment.

"Huh!? No way! No way in hell! Last time it broke free, that was a disaster!"

"You have to trust me." Sasuke tried to make his voice sound as convincing as possible, but annoyance was already breaking through.

Naruto stared at him like he had just grown a second head. Sasuke felt foolish: what else could he expect after having lied so often?

"Trust me," he repeated. "Please."

He morphed into Phase Two and burst inside Naruto's mind before the ninja could stop him. The Fox greeted him with a mind-numbing roar. Sasuke gritted his teeth, raised the Kusanagi and brought it down like an executor's axe, tearing away the Seal, breaking the bars and crashing the walls. Naruto screamed as his body turned into a torch of red chakra.

The Fox broke free, smashing the barrage of ribs, seeping out of every pore like streams of fire. Sasuke was cast out of Naruto's fading consciousness. His fingers clenched firmly around Naruto's necklace, and he pulled. For a second his world went dark again. When he opened his eyes he finally saw the Kyuubi's real form for the first time.

The Fox looked majestic, its multiple tails – all _nine_ of them – whipping through the air. Its fierce eyes blazed with imminent menace. Madara stepped back, awed by the sight of his old demonic ally standing in the flesh before him. There was not a trace of Naruto there anymore. Naruto had been erased, swept into oblivion as if he had never existed.

"You have made my task even easier," Madara smiled.

Sasuke stiffened. He only had one chance out of infinity.

"You think so?"

He threw his hand forth and tossed a summoning scroll up in the air. It unfolded in a blink of an eye – a standard scroll for the simplest Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Sasuke gripped the Kusanagi and slashed across his vein, blood splattering over the paper. The seals vanished from it only to be transferred on the ground around the Kyuubi. The monster tilted its head upwards and bellowed out a deafening howl.

"No…" Madara whispered.

Sasuke dipped the tip of the necklace into his blood and tossed it to the Kyuubi. It vanished in the radiation of its chakra, and the Fox turned its head and snarled hungrily. Sasuke's eyes grew wider.

Before he knew it, he was already down on his knees, screaming, screaming, _screaming_ as he gave his soul away. The soul of a sinner. The soul of a brother who had killed his brother and of a friend who had killed his friend. 'Take it… take your share…' It seemed to him no soul would remain for him to survive – the Fox would have it all and feast on it, and the world would fall – but why should he care for the world? He had given away all he had. There was nothing of him anymore.

He remembered himself through the pain as he used to be. A spiteful, bellicose, lonely child clinging to the cold image of his dead parents and the smiling faces from the past that would never smile again.

'Something is changing,' he thought weakly. All the fears, all the revelations, all the epiphanies of this exceedingly long day had left him even more lonely. 'Naruto...'

He could feel his bone structure change as his body slowly, agonizingly shifted back to human. Closer, harder, faster – normality, humanity hit him like a rolling stone. He was human again. He was alive. And he bore no mark of Orochimaru's any longer.

"The deal!" Madara whispered so loudly that it seemed like he was screaming. "You have given it part of your own soul. I have underestimated you, Sasuke. But you'll never control it! Not now that it has you within it!"

Sasuke rose steadily and smiled. He felt whole once again.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!"

His eyes blazed red – deeper, deeper and deeper, - and his tomoe spun and merged into a miniature atomic explosion. He focused his gaze on the Fox as it bent its head reluctantly and waited for him to act. His sight reached into it, binding it so that it was his – and only his – to command. Like it was long since meant to be.

Sasuke sprang up and ended up atop the Fox's spine. It felt different seeing this choppy sea of red from above. It felt so… real. Real fur like any normal fox would have – and the sound of heartbeat (or whatever the Demon had in place of a heart). Just – no scent. The lack of scent was about the only thing that gave its infernal origin away.

Madara's fingers moved frantically, forming seals for whatever petty ninjutsu he had picked to try and stop the imminent death as it sped up in his direction in the shape of his descendant riding an ethereal beast, his hand at the ready, blazing with blue fire. Now, _now_ the Kirin would not miss.

Sasuke lunged forth, driving the sizzling electric dragon right through his enemy's body. Water boiled beneath him as Madara's statue came crashing down. Sasuke rolled over onto the ground and lay still. Amidst the sound of tumbling rock and splashing water the Kyuubi's predatory snarling thundered along with the sickening crunch of bones and the man's final scream. When Sasuke opened his eyes, still ablaze with the power of the Mangekyou, the Valley lay still – in ruin – around him. Madara fell; the Shodai was still standing.

Sasuke got up cautiously, raised his hand and approached the Bijuu quietly. It moved its long ears somewhat quizzically, as if not fully comprehending what else the silly little human would want from it. Sasuke's palm touched its muzzle. All that power – for him alone. No one could stop him now.

He recalled the legends he had heard in his childhood; some read in Itachi's quiescent, but nonetheless powerful voice.

'_Once appeared a nine-tailed demon fox…'_

Sasuke looked at this legend with his Sharingan eyes and saw the future. No one would take it away from him.

'…_one swing of its mighty tail__ could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis.'_

The Fox roared; only it was too late. It belonged to him now, and he drove it back, reversing all the damage it had done. He had split his soul for it, and now it had to obey him. It screamed, '_Deceiver_!' somewhere in his mind. Its voice echoed in his body and heart and the ragged remnants of the soul he retained. He pushed it back, fighting it with his eyes and what chakra he still had left and even more so, with hope and memories of old promises. He watched the tails disappear one by one. There were four, and he caught an alien heartbeat, thrashing against his open palm. There were three, and he heard breathing. There were two, and he could no longer feel the Fox within his mind. There was one, and he saw Naruto, his broken body trying desperately to heal itself.

Sasuke tore through the shields of chakra and placed the Seal back, holding it with the same wounded hand that still tingled sometimes with the pain from the Kyuubi's bite. He put every knowledge he had into holding the Seal in place. The eyes, the time/space jutsu, his blood – and the Shodai's necklace. His secret leverage. It slipped into his hand as Naruto's body appeared again, torn apart by convulsions and screams nested in his throat and unable to break out.

As the monster's chakra began to fade around his body, Sasuke collapsed on top of Naruto on the bottom of the crater the power had just dug, pinning him to the ground. Every kick, every violent thrust rolled through him like a shockwave. The scent of blood was overwhelming; blood slithered in rivulets across Naruto's skin and onto Sasuke's face.

Finally the youth became still. Motionless as well, Sasuke listened, trying to catch the rhythm of his heart or the sound of his breath. (They were just there! Where the fuck would they go!?)

Naruto's eyes snapped open. With a fierce guttural scream he pushed Sasuke away and jumped him, nails tearing into the skin. Sasuke fought back almost leniently.

"What did you do!?" Naruto bellowed, red fire still stirring deep within his irises.

"I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't known you'd come back."

Breathing heavily, Naruto searched his face for any sign of changes. Swept his fingers over his cheeks, up to his eyebrows and down the slope of his nose, felt the teeth. Then he gave Sasuke a look that made Uchiha shudder inwardly – that of mingled hope and detachment.

"Really?"

Sasuke hesitated. He was tired of all this deceit.

"What did you do anyway?" the blond inquired. As his eyes began changing back to blue and vague blush returned to his cheeks, a bit of curiosity seeped into his tone.

"Kabuto," Sasuke explained reluctantly, "once mentioned that you could have come back wrong. I had to see for myself just how wrong it was. I had to use it if that was possible."

"So I am the ultimate time bomb, huh?"

Sasuke looked at him flatly. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Damn right! You're not worth a shit without me!"

Their eyes met for an instant, and both of them snorted nervously. Naruto struggled to get up. The dust of the battle had settled, the fires burnt out and were gradually washed away. Naruto took a deep breath and finally smiled.

"Man, that was rough…"

He seemed to have remembered something then. He jumped out of the crater and rushed towards the edge of the cliff. Sasuke followed him after a moment of doubt.

Between the scorched statue of the Shodai and the smoothed face of the cliff opposite it the river purled, its turbulent waters crowned with pearly foam. Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs:

"Kakashi-sensei!!"

The cry echoed in different directions, rebounding from the rocks. Naruto inhaled shakily. _No__!_ His mind refused to process it: no way the sensei could have fallen! He dashed down the cliff, hopping from boulder to boulder, calling out Kakashi's name.

Silence.

Naruto descended on the damp bank, breaking the thin layer of water apart with his feet. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

He returned to the top of the cliff and looked around grimly. Then he finally regarded Sasuke. Uchiha was looking at the setting sun, his face golden in the fading light, tired and somehow at peace.

Naruto had been afraid more than once in his life. Once he'd learnt his own terrifying secret and thought the only person who had ever acknowledged him would turn his back on him. Once he'd had his rival die for him in a foreign land covered in mist. Once he'd looked into Gaara's eyes and seen nothing but blind murderous intent. Once Sasuke had run the Chidori through him and claimed he had wanted to kill him for having been his best friend.

But he knew he had never been afraid like this before. The moment Ero-sennin had warned him about had come.

He bent down and picked a kunai from the ground.

"Well," Sasuke whispered, squinting at the sun, "at least it's over."

"No," Naruto said poignantly. "It's not."

Sasuke knitted his eyebrows and turned to face him. Naruto took up the fighting stance; his eyes, finally the clearest shade of blue, blazed with determination. It was him, all of him in that look, everything that made him what he was.

"I said I'd give my life to keep the promise."

"I don't want to fight you," Sasuke said quietly.

"Then don't! I'm asking you one last time: come home with me."

Sasuke chuckled. He just couldn't understand, could he?

"There is no home."

"Like hell there isn't!" Naruto screamed, clenching his fist painfully around the hilt of the kunai. "There's me and Sakura-chan! And all the people that have–. There's your brother's memory!"

Sasuke flinched.

"Stop."

He lowered his head and sighed. For a moment the silence that followed seemed unbreakable.

"There's us too," Naruto added bashfully.

"What is it about us?"

"I don't care!" Naruto snapped. "I don't need any words for it, I don't care how you name it, okay? It's just _us_. You're my friend, my brother, my… You're everything to me! You're the fucking constant in my life; have been for three years! Why the hell should I bother making up some lame explanations when everything's hard enough as it is!?"

Sasuke shook his head. That idiot! To say such things… That stupid, naïve idiot! He wished things in his world could be as simple as they were in Naruto's.

"Even if I came back to Konoha," he said dryly, "it'd be to have revenge against those who had destroyed my family. But I'm tired. I don't want to kill anymore."

"You won't have to! We'll just tell Tsunade-hag everything, and she'll find a way to–."

Sasuke resisted the urge to laugh. How simple yet again! How compellingly easy!

He started moving, walking around Naruto in circles like a wary animal. He didn't think he could take Naruto on in his current condition. Not only had he run out of chakra, but the complete release from the cursed seal had weakened him considerably. He hadn't felt that weak in a long time. He also doubted he could activate the Sharingan now, much less lift it to the Mangekyou level.

Pathetic.

"You and I live in different worlds, Naruto," he spoke calmly, his habitual aloof façade slipping back on. "Yours is bright and beautiful and so simple. If you want something, you just try hard enough – and there! you get it! Dreams, hope, love, friendship – to me all these things are only memories. My world is dark. The one my brother went into voluntarily. The one Orochimaru and Madara lived in. You won't understand. Nor do I want you to."

Naruto growled helplessly – and punched him in the face at such speed that Sasuke practically toppled over. He grabbed him by the hand and growled:

"I won't let you leave again, Sasuke! No more, do you hear me? No more!"

Apathy muffled the youth in a warm blanket. No more? Okay… let it be.

"My road is too narrow for the two of us to walk it," Sasuke whispered wearily.

Another punch in the face. Sasuke tried to pull away, but Naruto held his wrist firmly.

"Snap out of it, you bastard! My dream is enough for both of us!" Another wet sound of a fist colliding with the jaw. "We'll pave a highway!"

Sasuke collapsed on his knees and looked at Naruto, silently begging him to finally leave him to his misery. Let him die, let him be washed away like the black flames of Amaterasu.

"You don't listen to me!" Naruto cried out. "You have never listened to me! You chose it, Sasuke! This is the only way I can make you notice me."

Sasuke sat still, his numb body betraying him. Little by little his bloodied lips began to tremble. Next to him, Naruto slumped his shoulders, panting, and tried hard not to sob.

"What are you trying to prove?" Sasuke asked hoarsely.

"Maybe… that you're not my Apocalypse."

Sasuke smiled sadly. Since when did the dead last know such complex words?

He rose, shaking, took a deep breath and said:

"Fine. Have it your way. This time, no holding back."

A death match.

If that was what the blockhead wanted.

A glaring certainty in Naruto's eyes assured Sasuke he was doing the right thing. Naruto nodded.

They opposed each other, watching, listening, learning. Remembering their first battle in this majestic place.

Chill ran down Naruto's spine. He strove to push the fear away, bury it beneath his resolve. Sasuke's eyes said to him: 'Today one of us will die.' Naruto was daft enough to assume, 'That won't be me. That won't be you either.'

Sasuke attacked. Naruto countered. They flew past each other, assumed different positions and jumped back to clash again. Sasuke fired a Katon jutsu. Naruto skidded through it, splashes of fire rolling on both sides of him. He produced two clones and started shaping the Rasengan. A familiar chirping sound filled the valley. Blue sparks flared.

They rushed towards each other, feet barely touching the ground.

"CHIDORI!"

"OODAMA RASENGAN!"

_Missed?.._

They stood stock-still, hands still frozen in the positions needed to perform a jutsu. Their hearts skipped a few beats. Holding their breath, they looked past each other, numb, astounded, worn out. Remnants of lightning fell off of Sasuke's fingers. Naruto was still cupping the expired wind sphere.

Silence.

They couldn't – didn't dare – breathe.

Without a sound, both of them collapsed. Their world capsized, the sky above them melted into a deep, swampy shade of grey, and the last sparks of chakra forsook them.


	20. Half Light

**Title**: "Lunar, Solar"

**Author**: Shaitanah

**Rating**: R (overall)

**Timeline**: 3 months after the Itachi/Sasuke fight

**Summary**: _"…__because Sasuke would be the moon, Naruto would be the sun, and during an eclipse..."_ One can expect only trouble from unbidden guests. Naruto obviously forgot it when he saw a certain Uchiha on his doorstep, asking for help. And who knows how this story would have turned out had he refused. Sometimes all you have to do is wait.[Sasuke/Naruto] Please R&R!

**Disclaimer**: _Naruto _belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Story title from Pablo Neruda's _Drunk With Pines_. Lyrics from _Brokeback Mountain_ by Annie Proulx.

**Special thanks**: Marilena, Satalex, Dune Master, Helike and Fatelesskitten, and finally Yuko who does a terrific job translating this monster into Russian. You guys totally rock! As does everyone who reviewed, fav'd and waited patiently for my (rather inconsistent) updates.

**A/N**: So there it is, the epilogue for this story. It's gone a long way from a tiny one-shot it was supposed to be to my longest fanfic to date. I hope the ending doesn't disappoint you.

* * *

**Epi****logue**

_**Half Light**_

_There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, _

_but nothing could be done about it, _

_and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it._

_**Sakura's Letter**_

I don't count days anymore. I used to. I did it in spite of myself even when I didn't want to think about you. I finally stopped. But Naruto… I know he still does.

Forgive me if I'm being annoying with this letter I'll never send. I don't know your whereabouts, I don't even know if you'd want to read a letter from me. But I still feel the urge to write it. Maybe one day if we're killed on a mission you'll come back and someone will give this to you. She wrote it two months after you parted, they'll say. She would have wanted you to read it.

Today I took a walk from Tsunade-sama's office down to the training ground. It's funny how much you can see if you make a little detour.

I saw a multitude of faces. Smiling, sad, angry, calm… just faces of people I know or don't know. Gai-sensei's authoritative voice was floating out of the open window of the hospital. I figured it was something about Tenten-san. Luckily, I never had the time to get nervous because her irritated voice joined his, and the poor doctor that dealt with them was completely overrun.

I smiled. Team Gai had been absent for months now; it was good to know they finally returned. Lee-san and Neji-san were waiting in the yard. I waved hi at them and stopped to talk to Lee-san for a few minutes. Neji-san nodded to me, but didn't ask anything. From Hinata's words I knew he would have wanted to be available when two of our teams had set out to aid us in the Rain Village.

I went on, past the groves and the Yamanaka household. I met Ino and Chouji. It was my turn to make jokes about dates, but I bit my tongue. He's taking me to barbecue, Ino whispered, smiling, and her cheeks suddenly flushed. That was why I refrained from any comments.

It may seem odd but I'm really surprised at how good Sai actually got at making friends. I met him a little farther into the woods. He was sitting on a tree branch, his sketchbook on his knees, a flock of painted butterflies flitting merrily around him. Behind the tree trunk I spotted Shino, the most unlikely friend Sai could ever make. Somehow I find it very proper in a way. They don't talk much and mostly pretend not to notice each other. I warned Sai that Shino probably wouldn't get his 'penis jokes'.

But then again, you and Naruto never had much to talk about either, am I right?

I watched those little painted butterflies mix with the real ones (courtesy of Shino, I suppose) and kept going. They saw me off till I got back on the road and left the woods. I wondered briefly what Sai was drawing this time. His sketchbook is full of faces too. Those drawings are like photographs, they grasp the tiniest details. Captain Yamato looking quizzically over his shoulder – you expect him to turn around completely any minute and smile in his usual warm, polite way. Konohamaru perfecting Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu. He can perform a threesome now (ask Naruto for details). Tsunade-sama, her eyes filled with sorrow she would never show if she knew anyone was watching. Sai wasn't, as a matter of fact. He simply knew it was there.

And Naruto. He draws a lot of Naruto these days and proclaims each piece a failure because there's something about Naruto that is just too hard to capture.

I thought I heard Shikamaru's voice as I walked on, but I didn't stop to find out. As I approached the fork road I heard female laughter and shrill yelping. I saw Hinata sitting on the grass lawn and a small puppy making its way towards her. Kiba was watching, his sharp canines bared in a huge grin. I thought Hinata couldn't blush any harder… Oh, well.

I can't say we have changed for the past two months. Some of us have, others haven't. Me, I've come to terms with all my issues. I must have learnt something, understood something. I didn't give up… but I stopped counting days.

And Naruto (I know I've already mentioned it, but it's important) hasn't.

He was there by the river as I turned towards the training ground. I didn't see him (a little too far away), but he's always there. For some reason he spends more time there than at Ichiraku's, or opposite the Uchiha Compound, or any other training ground. No, he trains by the Memorial, the same place where we tried to get the bells from Kakashi-sensei years ago (remember?), and then he sits by the river and watches it flow. It never stops.

About a month ago we were on a small mission that led us to the Wave Country. You remember it? They have a bridge named after Naruto. You almost died there. It was the first time I cried so hard it seemed I'd cry my eyes out. The second time was when Naruto died.

We met Inari, too. I don't suppose you remember him. He's grown up a lot and he has become as respected by the citizens as his father. As soon as he learnt 'Naruto-nii-chan' was back, he rushed out to meet us. He asked about you, too. Well, more like he glanced at Sai suspiciously and muttered: This is the wrong guy.

On our way back we stopped by Haku's grave. For some reason Naruto stood stock-still for minutes, gazing at Zabuza's sword rising from behind his tomb. I can't believe it, he whispered and reached out to feel the hilt. There was a miniature scroll attached to it.

'I have a better one now,' it said. 'Don't think I really need all seven. Maybe I do have my own code of respect.'

Naruto's eyes sparkled when he read the note. I never got to ask him what all this meant (don't you know by chance?) but I was glad to see it made him happy.

Lost deep in thought about everything that had transpired in the past months, I finally made it to the Memorial. Kakashi-sensei (senpai? God, I'm still so awkward with this!) was standing before it like he always does, staring at the names running down the black surface.

I remember the day I was waiting for you to return as clearly as I remember every day of our last mission. There was a man… another man, a patient of mine. I'd just finished treating his wounds when Kakashi's voice reached me. I sprang on my feet and couldn't make myself move further. I just stood next to the patient, eyeing Kakashi over the crowd – and suddenly I rushed to him and threw my arms around him. His clothes were wet; there were bruises on his skin.

I looked away and saw Naruto sprawled on the low table cleared of everything. Kakashi told me he had found him in the Valley of the End soaking under the rain just like years ago. Only this time he sat next to him, waiting for the rain to end, before he did anything. His own wounds were to severe. There was no sign of you.

The innkeeper made his way towards Kakashi through the gathered crowd. I could tell he wasn't content with battered, bleeding ninja invading his tavern. I sat next to Naruto while Kakashi paid for the room; he was barely breathing. His skin was cold to touch, and I had wasted a lot of my chakra on the previous patient. When they finally carried Naruto upstairs, I lay on the bed next to him until his body temperature rose and he breathed normally. Then I gathered what strength I had left and stabilized the chakra flow in his channels.

"What do we do now?" I asked Kakashi after a while. "We could send a message to the village and ask them to dispatch a search party–."

"No."

He looked so tired. I moved closer, covered his hand with my palm and waited for him to continue. I couldn't understand if he was giving up on you or if it was something else.

"He can't hurt himself any more than he already has," the sensei went on. "Nor is he a danger to us. It is hardly his objective to cooperate with whatever enemies of Konoha still remain. Just let him go."

That didn't really convince me. For all I knew, the Elders would still demand your return.

"We could say that he died in battle," I suggested insecurely.

Kakashi shook his head. "No need. Leave it be, Sakura. No one will look for him. He is but a ghost now."

To my surprise, he was right. No one mentioned you after we came back and presented our reports to Tsunade-sama. Maybe that's exactly what you wanted. If that's the case, I hope you're happy now.

As Kakashi and I stood by the Memorial two months after that final battle, I made up my mind not to regret anything. Whatever happened, it made me strong. It made me who I am.

I took him by the hand (something I wouldn't have dared do before) and led him away from the monument. And for that, I thank you.

* * *

There was a place by the river beyond the training grounds where the grass grew so tall that it reached Naruto's chin as he sat there watching the current. His knees pulled up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs, he stared solemnly at the water, all but its gentle purl completely lost to him.

He was half-sleeping.

The calmness of this place soothed him. He didn't have to face anyone here, not even himself.

Days were getting colder. Streaks of gray and yellow shimmered in the faded grass, so pallid and frail they looked like bits of a ghostly realm merged with reality.

Naruto yawned lazily. Clouds of various shapes and sizes paraded through the sky above him. He squinted up and when the sun wasn't in his eyes he saw one cloud that almost looked like a ramen bowl. Naruto sighed. He was turning into Shikamaru minus the IQ – and that was vexing.

In his drowsiness, it wasn't at once that he sensed someone approaching. The person wasn't an enemy; otherwise he wouldn't have been so deliberately slow. Naruto groaned quietly. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone.

His eyes grew wider. That chakra. It couldn't be!

The footsteps grew louder and then died down, the person standing right behind Naruto. The grass swayed softly as he lowered himself on the ground, back to back with Naruto. His fingers dropped hesitantly near Naruto's hand that lay lax on the ground.

Naruto tensed. Little by little the sheer astonishment on his face gave way to a huge smile. Slowly he began to turn around, waiting to hear the familiar:

"Hey, moron."

_**The End**_


End file.
